A TrixDash Love Story

Chapters

2 - Breaking The Ice (Part II)
3 - The Show (Part III)
5 - Welcome To Ponyville (Part I)
6 - Seeing The Sights (Part II)
7 - Meeting Scootaloo (Part III)
8 - First Date (Part IV)
9 - The Search For Spike (Part I)
10 - The Past Returns (Part II)
11 - Double-Date With RariJack!
12 - Showdown!
13 - A Child's Crush (Part I)
14 - Two's Company, Three's A Crowd (Part II)
15 - The Best Policy (Part III)
16 - Something Stirs In The Night
18 - Seeking The End Of The Rainbow (Part II)
19 - Concerned About Appearences
20 - Old Friends
21 - On Vacation
22 - Something's On Dashie's Mind
23 - Encroaching Storm (Part I)
24 - Saving Trixie and Protecting Celestia (Part II)
25 - Ghost Busting! (Part III)
26 - TrixDash Finale/Epilogue
1 - Chance Encounter (Part I)
4 - The Case Of The Missing Colt
17 - An Epic Adventure (Game)! (Part I)

2 - Breaking The Ice (Part II)

Trixie checked her appearance in her mirror, humming to herself as she examined both sides of her mane. “I’ll be taking a bath anyway, but Trixie should still look her best even before she washes up.” She levitated her brush into the air and brought it to her head, stopping just short of her hair. “But then, why exactly does Trixie need to go through the effort of looking good for that Pegasus? It’s not like we’re close or anything.

“But appearance is important. And the Great and Powerful Trixie always strives to look her best when she goes outside.” Trixie began to run the brush through her mane, wincing slightly as she felt it catch on some knots. “It really has been a long time since Trixie has properly tended to her beautiful mane. That Pegasus must think that Trixie looks like a complete mess…”

That thought made Trixie feel uneasy. The possibility that a such a rough and messy tomboy like that Rainbow Dash would actually look better than her was enough reason to continue brushing her mane, but she also didn’t like the thought of Rainbow Dash laughing at her and making fun of her untidy appearance.

After making sure that her hair was significantly tidy and appealing to the eye, Trixie sat down on her bed and waited. As she did so, however, she noticed that the top of her mane in a complete state of disarray. With a grunt, Trixie picked up her brush and began tidying her hair once more, but no matter how much she brushed, it would be no good. She had neglected her hair too much over the past year, and now it was coming back to bite her in the flank.

“No choice…” Trixie used her magic to levitate her hat from beside the front door and placed it on her head. She did the same with her cape, hesitating for just a moment before putting it on. “Hmph. Once that Pegasus sees how useless the whole situation is, she’ll give up this ridiculous exercise.”

Despite her confidence in those words, Trixie’s attention turned to door and she began her wait in silence for the knock to come. Five minutes passed, and Trixie still waited. Ten minutes, and Trixie was beginning to feel anxious. Fifteen minutes, and the showmare let out a sigh as she concluded that Rainbow Dash had indeed realised how foolish this whole thing was.

As that thought passed through her mind, a knock at the door came, and Trixie jumped up with a start. “Hey Trixie! You in there?”

‘She actually came,’ Trixie thought as she stood up. She didn’t approach the door immediately, though. She took a moment to remove the smile from her face, and then another moment to sniff her hoof to make sure she didn’t smell too bad. She decided that she didn’t smell any worse than she did yesterday and gave herself a nod in the mirror before proceeding.

“Hey!”

“Hold your horses!” Trixie yelled as she used a scanning spell to confirm that only Rainbow Dash awaited her outside. When she saw that only the Pegasus was waiting for her, she unlocked the door’s locks and opened the trailer door, making sure that Rainbow had backed away so that it wouldn’t hit her in the face.

At first, as the two made eye contact with each other, nothing happened. They simply stood in silence for a few moments, expecting the other pony to say something first.

Trixie wasn’t sure what she expected the Pegasus to say, but she had an arsenal of witty retorts at the ready for whatever smart-mouthed, degrading insult was thrown her way. And thanks to the food from last night, she was now able to retaliate magically, too.

Rainbow Dash, however, wasn’t sure what to say at all. She had told herself last night, and this morning, that this was just a casual meet-up to help somepony who was down on their luck, and nothing more. Maybe, if Trixie was willing to let bygones be bygones, the two could possibly hang out in the future, but right now this was strictly business.

So why was the first thought that crossed Rainbow Dash’s mind that Trixie looked good for somepony who hadn’t properly bathed for months? And why was she having so much trouble telling her that? Or even simply greeting her?

After realising that Trixie was waiting for her to say something first, Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and regained her cool. “So, uh… You ready to go?”

A part of Trixie was disappointed by the lack of challenge that Rainbow Dash gave to her, but that was overshadowed by the part that was grateful for the Pegasus seemingly staying true to her words from yesterday. “Sure. Just remember that you’re paying.”

“That’s fine,” Rainbow said, feeling a little upset with herself for giving in so easily. She decided to remedy that. “I mean, so long as you pay me back later.”

“Oh, of course,” Trixie said, still not sure if she would or not just yet. On one hoof, this was one of the ponies that had heckled her during her final successful show one year ago, and after she revives her career, there’ll be no need to stick around with her any longer. On the other hoof, if this pony truly was going to such lengths to help the showmare out…

‘Trixie used to be quite a grateful pony, back in the day. But that was before I saw how ungrateful ponies can truly be… Well, it’s only a few bits. It’d probably be safe just to pay her back and be done with it.’

After locking her trailer door with her magic, Trixie walked alongside Rainbow Dash through the park, and tried to ignore the comments she could hear from everypony around them. She tried to think about how much better things would be after her grand comeback show. How ponies will line up outside her trailer to apologise for wronging her in the past, and how children will once again seek her autograph to hang on their walls. And perhaps most importantly, how she will once again be able to brush her mane without it hurting so much.

Rainbow Dash could also hear the things being said around them, and wanted to avoid another incident like yesterday. She had no intention of telling Trixie, but on the way to her trailer today she found that the police were on their way to question Trixie about the aggravated assault, and was just able to shake them off by paying the fine that Trixie would have been issued, plus a little more. She didn’t feel good bribing the police like that, but she also knew full well how it felt to get into trouble for simply defending yourself when nopony else was willing to help.

In order to avoid Trixie losing her temper and knocking the lights out of some unfortunate pony, Rainbow Dash gave a hard glare to anypony she heard talking about Trixie. She wondered if perhaps she was just being too paranoid, but one look at Trixie confirmed that, despite the tough face she was putting on, she was hurting badly on the inside.

Rainbow Dash decided to try to break the silence and start a conversation with the other mare. Something upbeat, to drown out the negative remarks around them. “So…” Trixie acknowledged she was paying attention by shifting her gaze to her side. “You uh… like any sports?”

“… Croquet is alright, I guess. And golf.”

“Really?” Rainbow asked in surprise, an eyebrow raised. “But, they’re so dull. And the ponies that play them are all rich snobs who only know how to kiss the flanks of higher nobles.” She noticed the glare that Trixie was giving her, and quickly corrected herself. “Uh, and you too, of course…” she added with a nervous chuckle.

Trixie huffed and flicked her mane. “Trixie will admit that a lot of upper-class snobs like to pollute such sports with their presence, but that does not mean the sports themselves are without merit. They are peaceful, relaxing, and can get quite intense at times.”

“If you say so,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “Me, I can’t games that are so slow are quiet. I need speed!” Rainbow Dash extended her wings and shot into the air, shooting well ahead of Trixie before looping around and catching up from behind her. “I need action! And above all, I need a roaring crowd just cheering my name!”

Trixie grinned and held her hoof to her nose to prevent the dust built up from Rainbow’s little performance just now from making her sneeze. “Oho? And what was it you were saying about Trixie being loud and unpleasant the first time we met?”

“Whoa whoa whoa! I didn’t say you were unpleasant! Hay, I don’t say that about anypony. Pain in the flank gets the point across much better.” Rainbow touched onto the ground and gave Trixie a sidelong look. “I just said you were loud, but I never said there was anything wrong with it.”

“Then why bring it up at all?”

“Well, Twilight was worried that being good at magic made us think you two were the same.” Rainbow shrugged as she thought back to the incident. “I don’t really get it, but I figure she was worried we’d no longer see her for how special she was. That we could just replace her for you at any moment. I was just pointing out that, even though your talents are the same, the way you use them isn’t. And that’s what really matters. At least, that’s what I think.”

Trixie whistled in appreciation at the Pegasus’ explanation. “Even though you don’t look like it, you’ve got quite a head on those shoulders.”

Rainbow Dash smiled and felt her face heating up a bit. She wasn’t sure, but she feared that she may have been blushing, so she quickly turned her head away to hide it. “Well, I actually got it from a Wonderbolts cereal box when I was a kid.”

“‘Having talent isn’t enough. It’s how you use it that defines who you are.’” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened and she looked back at the now-grinning Trixie. “Trixie also liked that cereal, back when she was a filly.”

Rainbow stopped for a moment to offer her hoof to Trixie, who also stopped to accept the hoofbump. The tension from earlier was now completely gone, and Rainbow felt like she could easily start any number of conversations with Trixie. To her surprise, Trixie seemed to have no problem starting a conversation, either.

“You’re not so bad, you know? Trixie almost feels bad for beating you so thoroughly that time.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and donned an unimpressed look on her face. “Eh, you just got lucky. I’ve improved a lot since then, so don’t think it’ll happen again?”

“Oh? What, have you been lifting clouds and drinking lots of milk?”

“Actually, yeah,” Rainbow replied with a grin, wiping Trixie’s own cocksure smile off of her face. “Clouds may be light, but ones with lightning storms inside of them require great care and precision. And milk’s the drink they serve up at the Wonderbolt Academy.”

Trixie stopped and stared flabbergasted at the Pegasus’ words. Rainbow Dash stopped and crossed her forelegs as she waited for Trixie’s next remark. “You’re… a cadet at the Wonderbolt Academy?”

“Yep,” Rainbow said without missing a beat. She could feel the awe and wonder coming from Trixie, and she was loving it so much. “Lead Pony, to be exact. Second fastest flyer in the whole Academy.”

“Second?” Trixie asked.

“Yeah, well, that’s only ‘cause my Wingpony is totally insane when she flies. One of these days, she’s totally gonna break her leg or something.”

“So, does that mean that you get to meet Spitfire and Soarin, and all the other Wonderbolts.”

“See ‘em? Heck, I’ve partied with them at the Grand Galloping Gala!”

Trixie continued to looked awed for a few more seconds, much to Rainbow Dash’s delight, before her face fell and she shot an angry look down at the floor. “H-Hey… you okay?” Rainbow asked, receiving a headshake from Trixie.

“It’s so unfair,” the showmare said. “Ever since Trixie first got into show business, she wanted to join the Wonderbolts and travel Equestria with them. But they wouldn’t let Trixie, and do you know why?”

“Uh… Because you’re a Unicorn?”

“Exactly!” Trixie shouted, stomping a hoof. “So what if Trixie can’t fly? She spent months perfecting the cloud walking spell to make up for that! Even if Trixie couldn’t race, her magic could have been used to enhance their performances tenfold! A firework here, correct lighting there, lightning strikes at just the right moment… But they said no. Because only flyers are allowed on their team, and Trixie was born without wings…”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and gave Trixie a sympathetic look. “Wow… You… really wanted to be a Wonderbolt, huh?”

Trixie nodded. “It was Trixie’s dream for so long. And it was crushed in just one second, by just one simple word from their leader.” Trixie’s eyes looked up at the brim of her hat. If she wasn’t wearing it, she’d be glaring at her horn right now. “Trixie cursed this horn that day. She cursed the fact that she was born a Unicorn, and not a Pegasus. If only that one allele was just different…”

“I’m sorry to hear tha-”

“That’s when Trixie decided to forget about that impossible dream,” Trixie said, interrupting Rainbow Dash. “If the Wonderbolts refused to let Trixie onto their team, then Trixie decided she would simply start her own travelling performance. She’d become bigger than the Wonderbolts could ever hope to be, all on her own. And then, they would regret not allowing Trixie to join them when they had the chance.”

Rainbow Dash waited this time, to make sure that she wouldn’t be interrupted again. “Well, for what it’s worth, you’ve got some pretty neat magic in that horn of yours.”

Trixie rolled her eyes and scoffed. “First of all, magic is stored in the body as waves, and channelled through the horn,” Trixie said, causing Rainbow Dash to frown at the impromptu science lesson. “Second, you saw more of the Alicorn Amulet’s magic than you did of Trixie’s.”

“Yeah, but… I still saw some of yours. And anyway, I’m pretty sure not just anypony gets a Cutie Mark in magic.”

Trixie shifted her cape slightly and looked over her shoulder at her flank. “Well, that’s true. Only the best of the best receive a Cutie Mark as fine as this.”

“Just like mine!” Rainbow Dash added, puffing her chest out to strike a proud pose in front of the showmare.

“So you have the talent and the wings to join the Wonderbolts,” Trixie said bitterly as she turned her attention back to the Pegasus. “Whilst Twilight Sparkle has the talent and the good fortune to mark her place in Equestria’s history books.”

Rainbow Dash frowned and took a few steps towards Trixie. “Look, I’ll admit it sucks that your dream was stopped because you don’t have wings. That’s not really something you can control.” Trixie was about to respond, but Rainbow cut her off by raising a hoof. “But you can’t go holding a grudge on somepony just ‘cause they got lucky. And just because you didn’t have their luck, doesn’t mean things won’t pick up for you in the future. You just gotta keep trying.”

“Easier said than done,” Trixie muttered under her breath. She noticed the stern look that Rainbow Dash was giving her and let out a sigh. “Ponies only allow you one mistake, before they use it to judge you for your entire life. Now that Trixie’s reputation is in shambles, it will not be at all easy to revive it.”

“Which is why-”

“I know,” Trixie said. “… And Trixie appreciates the effort that you’re going through for her sake.”

Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head and shifted her eyes to the side, resting her gaze on a store to her left but not really looking at it. “Yeah, well… Don’t mention it. I always did like siding with the underdog, even as a kid.”

The two continued to stand in silence for a few more moments, neither sure what to say next under the sappy conditions presented to them. Rainbow Dash didn’t like these kinds of situations, and Trixie was simply not used to them.

“So…” Rainbow Dash started, trying to think of some way to change the topic. “… You, uh… You’re a fan of Spitfire’s. You ever get her autograph?” Trixie shook her head, and Rainbow’s grin returned. “Want me to hook you up with one? I can do that, y’know?”

Trixie’s eyes widened suddenly and she felt all of the awkwardness from moments ago leave her completely. “You’re serious? You can get it, without having to wait in line for like, hours on a hot summer day?”

“All I gotta do is catch her on a good day,” Rainbow joked in response.

“… Damnit. Maybe Trixie should cut off your wings and glue them onto herself.”

“Nah. These babies come from the most athletic Pegasus in all of Equestria. A nerd like you wouldn’t stand a chance at using them.”

Trixie harrumphed and flicked her mane at the remark. “Forgive Trixie if she chose interesting and rewarding knowledge over unnecessary sweating and falling in dirt trying to chase a ball.”

“Pfft! You sound just like Rarity!” Rainbow said, unable to hold in her laughter.

“Rarity? And how do you know a famous designer from Canterlot?” Trixie gave the Pegasus a sly grin. “Got a secret hobby of playing dress up, Rainbow Dash?”

“Get real!” Rainbow said, hardly allowing herself to be fazed by the fact that Trixie had just addressed her by name for the first time. “And she’s not from Canterlot. She’s from Ponyville. You remember her, right? White coat, purple mane… which you turned green. You also made her make banners for you under your rule.”

“Oh. Her.” Trixie cringed slightly at the latter memory. “Trixie will thank you not to bring up the time that she was corrupted by that amulet. She still has nightmares about it to this very day.”

Rainbow’s face softened and she gave Trixie an apologetic look. “Oh. Sorry ‘bout that. Didn’t realise it was a touchy subject.”

“Well it is,” Trixie quickly snapped. “So don’t bring it up again.”

“Okay, okay,” Rainbow Dash said, surprised at just how touchy the subject seemed to be exactly for the showmare.

“… So, this Rarity,” Trixie started as she resumed her walking, Rainbow Dash following alongside her, “You’re not going to tell Trixie she lived out Trixie’s dream, too, are you?”

Rainbow Dash smiled and shook her head. “Not unless your dream was being an overly dramatic, OCD dressmaker who likes to buck apples.”

“She’s a farmer, too?”

“Not those kinds of apples,” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. “You remember my other friend Applejack, don’t ya?”

Trixie nodded, picturing the orange pony in her mind for a second. She could recall blonde hair, a hat, a straw of wheat in her mouth, and three apples on her flanks. “… Oho?” When Trixie connected the dots in her head, she returned the look that Rainbow Dash was giving her. “So you’re saying-”

“Yep,” Rainbow finished, noticing that there were foals nearby.

“Well, this day might not be so boring after all,” Trixie said. She would have never imagined that Rainbow Dash was the type to gossip, and it had been a long time since the showmare has shared any ‘juicy’ stories with anypony.

“Was there ever any doubt?” Rainbow Dash asked in an impersonated tone of Trixie’s voice.

“Several,” Trixie responded with a harrumph. “But then, who would have thought you’d be such a cool pony to talk to?”

“Well, right back at ya,” Rainbow said, stretching a wing over Trixie’s body and pulling her closer. “Man, it’s a shame we got off to such a rough start. You’re alright, Trix.”

“… Don’t call me that,” Trixie said, her face turning red as she brushed the wing away from her.

Rainbow’s face also turned red as she realised she had just wrapped her wing around Trixie, and the two didn’t say anything more until they had reached the spa.

“No, no! You’re wrong, Rainbow Dash!” Trixie shouted, glaring at the Pegasus at the other end of the tub. “The only reason that Spitfire is the Captain is because she is smart, and a good team co-ordinator! The real fastest flyer of the Wonderbolts is Fleetfoot!”

“You’re crazy! It’s true that Fleetfoot is faster than ponies give her credit for, but faster than Spitfire?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has seen over on hundred of their shows, and once possessed a copy of every single one of their annuals up to date! Trixie knows what she is talking about!”

“Well I’ve trained under them personally, and trust me, not even Celestia herself could keep up with her!”

“Excuse me.”

“What?!” both Rainbow Dash and Trixie replied in unison, glaring at the spa pony that had interrupted them.

“May I please ask the two of you to keep your voices down? There are other ponies here that are trying to bathe in peace.”

Rainbow Dash looked around at the ponies glaring at the two of them and nervously laughed it off as she settled down against the side of the tub. Trixie simply looked indifferent to the glares directed towards them, though truthfully was glad to feel those glares directed towards another pony as well as herself.

“So how is it?” Rainbow asked, drawing a questioning look from Trixie. “The water.”

“Oh. Well, it’s certainly nicer than using cold lake water, that’s for sure.” Trixie sank down into the warm bathwater, letting out a pleasant sigh as she felt all of her muscles relax. “A massage would be nice, too.”

“Yeah, well, I’m only paying for the bath,” Rainbow reminded her.

“And your choice of shampoo is appalling. Honestly, if Trixie wasn’t the gracious pony that she was, she wouldn’t have allowed that stuff anywhere near her precious mane.” Shifting her eyes towards the shampoo, Trixie smiled. ‘But at least now I can go out without looking like a natural disaster had struck my hair.’

“Whatever. It’s cheap and it gets the job done. I don’t need my mane to smell like a basket of fruit or nothin’.”

Trixie sighed out of exasperation and shook her head. “Trixie would have thought that you of all ponies would understand the importance of always maintaining one’s appearance, even for something as simple and mundane as crossing the street. If you want to be a star, the focus of everypony’s attention, then you have to look your best at all times.”

Rainbow Dash waved her hoof dismissively. “Maybe that’s your thing, but it sure isn’t mine.” As Trixie pouted and rested the back of her head against the side of the tub, Rainbow Dash took the chance to look over Trixie’s mane again. It was wet and flat, and dull in appearance. Running a hoof through her own mane, Rainbow had to admit to herself that her own mane was usually rough and untidy. When it came to flying fast, she never felt that beautifying her mane was all that important, as it would just get messy again in the future. But Trixie wasn’t a flyer.

“… Hey!” Rainbow called over to the spa pony tending to a nearby bathtub. “Could you come over here for a sec?”

“One moment.” The pony completed their task and walked over to the patron calling for her. “What can I help you with?”

Rainbow Dash looked over at Trixie. “Well? What kinda shampoo d’you normally use?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow at the Pegasus. “What, you’re treating Trixie to proper hygiene products now?”

Rainbow looked up at the ceiling coolly so that she wouldn’t have to look Trixie in the eyes. “Well, I just thought that you’ll need to look your best when you do your big comeback show, right? I guess you know more about this stuff than me, so if you say my stuff’s no good, then-”

“Well in that case, don’t expect Trixie to hold back,” Trixie said, grinning as she turned to the spa pony.

Rainbow sighed, but smiled as she watched the spa pony leave to fetch Trixie’s request. She then wondered why she was smiling. ‘This is stupid. Why do I hate seeing her sad like that? Why am I spending money on a ridiculously expensive shampoo for her?’

“Hey,” Trixie said. Rainbow turned her attention to the blue mare, who was now holding a white bottle of shampoo in her magic. “Here.”

“… Uh… what?” Rainbow asked.

Trixie’s brow furrowed and she scooted closer to Rainbow Dash, whose guard rose in response. “You’re going to be onstage with Trixie too, remember? You’ve got to look good too.”

Rainbow realised what Trixie was up to, and quickly shook her head. “Nuh-huh! No way! I don’t use weird stuff like that on my mane!”

“Oh come on! Your mane would look much bet-” Trixie paused and thought for a moment. “Cooler, if you just took the time to wash it properly every now and then.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened at the compliment, and she raised a hoof to touch her mane. “I don’t know…”

“Trust me. It’ll suit you.” Trixie shifted her eyes to the side as she felt her face starting to heat up. “You’re not an unattractive mare, you know? It’s a shame that you don’t care enough to make your good points stand out more.”

Rainbow felt herself beginning to blush too. “Y-You think so?”

“Yes. Now just let the Great and Powerful Trixie show you how to properly treat your mane. If necessary, you can consider thanks for all this.”

Rainbow still wasn’t sure, and took a moment to think it over. She really didn’t like fussing so much over her mane like her more upper-class friend Rarity did, not just because it was a hassle, but also because it didn’t go well with her image of being cool.

But for some reason this seemed important to Trixie, and the reasons that she gave seemed legitimate enough. ‘Well, I guess my friends aren’t here to see…’ With a sigh, she gave in. “Alright, fine. Just nothing too fancy, okay?”

“Fine.” Trixie opened the bottle and hovered it over Rainbow’s hooves, pouring some shampoo into them. “Any maybe a nice hooficure to-”

“Don’t push your luck,” Rainbow said. “I don’t like ponies touching my hooves.”

Trixie pouted as she poured some shampoo into her own hooves. “Spoilsport.”

As Rainbow washed the shampoo out of her mane with some water, she was surprised to find that it really did make a difference. As she ran a hoof through her mane, she found that it actually felt kind of nice. ‘And it smells… okay, too.’ Part of her wanted to ask Trixie the name of the product so that she could buy some more later, but she didn’t want to give something for the showmare to poke fun at.

When the two were done, Rainbow paid the fee for the both of them and they left the spa. Trixie took one step outside and stretched her legs. As she did so, Rainbow watched, admiring Trixie’s new dazzling appearance in the light of the sun. She looked almost like a whole new mare, and as she turned to smile at the Pegasus, she seemed to be so full of life in contrast to her appearance the day before.

“So what next?” Trixie asked, breaking Rainbow’s focus. “You mentioned having somepony fix up Trixie’s clothes. Got any ideas?”

Rainbow slapped herself mentally and snapped to attention. “Oh, right! Come with me. I know this mare who makes some really good clothes.”

After leaving Trixie’s clothes with the elderly tailor living around the corner to Rainbow’s father, the two mares decided to hit up the nearby ice-cream parlour. Rainbow Dash ordered chocolate flavour, whilst Trixie preferred strawberry.

The two were now talking just fine, without any of the tension or awkwardness that they felt earlier that morning. And they had learned a lot about each other, too. Whilst Rainbow took the time to tell Trixie of her achievements in Cloudsdale and in Ponyville, Trixie enlightened Rainbow Dash to her days learning magic as a foal, her trials through Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and finally, what kind of magic the Pegasus missed out on during Trixie’s first visit to Ponyville.

“Artificial wings made out of gossamer and morning dew? Sounds like a spell that would be perfect for Trixie’s performances… but sadly, not strong enough to convince the Wonderbolts to let her join.”

“Yeah, they kinda burnt up really quickly when Rarity got too close to the sun.”

Trixie giggled at the story. “Just like the Unicorn sage Icarus. A good warning to all that mere mortals will always remain just that.” Trixie took a spoonful of her ice-cream into her mouth and swallowed it before continuing. “So, how did she survive? Saved by the Wonderbolts?”

“Actually, she knocked ‘em all out when she was flailing and screaming for help,” Rainbow said, almost making Trixie choke on her next spoonful of ice-cream.

“Seriously? She knocked out the Wonderbolts when they tried to save her?”

“Dead serious,” Rainbow said, her grin matching Trixie’s. “So it was up to me then. I swooped on down and saved all of them at the last possible second! And you wanna know what technique I used to do so?”

Before Trixie could answer, a stallion approached the two from the side and placed a hoof on their table. “Hey, you’re that showmare ‘the Great and Powerful Trixie’, right?”

“That is correct,” Trixie responded with a glare. “What is it you want? An autograph?”

The stallion laughed and shook his head. “That’s a good one! Almost as good as that whole ‘I slayed an ursa major’ story. Heard you couldn’t even beat a lost little baby.”

Trixie’s brow furrowed and her horn lit up, her eyes focussing on the stallions long dreadlock mane. However, before she could fire off any spells, a blue Pegasus mare entered her field of vision by shoving the stallion away.

“Yeah, what of it? Have you ever beat an ursa minor?” she asked the stunned stallion. “Well?”

“Uh, no. But-”

“Right, so why don’t ya just mind your own business, and we’ll mind ours. Sound good?” The stallion seemed ready to retort, so Rainbow Dash continued. “Or d’you wanna find out what happens when you get struck on the back of the neck by lightning?”

The stallion flinched and took a step back, looking between the two glares being sent his way. “O-Oh, would you look at the time? I should really get going now…” The stallion left in a hurry, leaving Rainbow Dash grinning proudly and laughing at the sight of him tripping over outside the door.

However, when she turned around to face Trixie, she found the showmare still looking rather annoyed. “What was that?” Trixie asked. “You interfered, again.”

Rainbow sighed as she sat back down. “Look, I just didn’t want you causing a scene and making things worse. This performance is gonna change everything, trust me. So just hold it in until then, okay?”

Trixie harrumphed and sat back in her chair, forelegs crossed. “The Great and Powerful Trixie can fight her own battles, Rainbow Dash.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second,” Rainbow said. “But a wise stallion told me once that it’s not enough being able to fight. You also have to know when to fight.”

“Who said that?”

“My dad. And he’s right. You shouldn't let yourself get drawn into petty fights like this. You just leave troublemakers like that to me, and in return, I’ll let you watch my back, too. Okay?”

Trixie considered her proposal for a second, before noticing something in what she said. She tilted her head at the Pegasus. “Wait, that makes it sound like we’re more than just business partners.”

Rainbow Dash suddenly realised that too, and took a moment to think about it before responding. “Well… maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.”

“… Trixie… thought she made it clear that she isn’t looking for friendship from you.”

“I know, but… I actually had fun today. You’re pretty cool, for a Unicorn.”

Trixie let out a momentary laugh at the comment. “And you’re not bad, for a ruffian tomboy.”

Rainbow Dash also laughed for a moment, before turning her attention to the side. She noticed a clock on the wall and widened her eyes as she read the time.

“Well,” Trixie began, “Maybe… we could still hang out more after Trixie’s big comeback show.”

“Huh?” Rainbow turned to Trixie and registered what she had just said. “Oh, yeah. Totally.” After finishing off the remainder of her ice-cream really quickly, Rainbow Dash stood up and picked up her saddlebags. “Uh, look, I’d like to stay longer, but I have to get going.”

Trixie felt her stomach tightening and her ears drooping, but tried her best to ignore them. “Really? You don’t want to stay and have dinner?” Trixie wondered why she was asking such a thing, but didn’t have time to wonder for long before Rainbow Dash answered her.

“I would, but I already made plans to have dinner with my dad. Sorry Trixie.” Rainbow felt a wave of sadness wash over her for a brief moment, but quickly shook it off. “Uh, but maybe tomorrow? We can even go out to eat, instead of you just having those cheap noodles.”

At that, Trixie’s spirits elevated immediately. “Well, if you have already made plans then it can’t be helped. But dinner tomorrow sounds perfectly acceptable.”

“Alright!” The two stared at each other in silence for a few moments. “Soooo, I guess I’d better get going then.”

Trixie nodded. “Indeed. Trixie will see you tomorrow?”

Rainbow nodded back. “Yeah. Tomorrow.” Another few seconds of silence followed, with both mares averting their eyes afterwards, and then Rainbow Dash slowly backing away from Trixie. “Then, catch ya later.”

“Later,” Trixie said softly, before jumping at the sound of clattering ahead of her. She looked up to see that Rainbow Dash had collided with a table, and was now apologising to the two ponies sitting there. After that, the Pegasus left rather quickly, leaving Trixie all alone with her bowl of quickly-melting ice-cream. “… This suddenly doesn’t seem very appetising.”

Grabbing her hat and putting it on, Trixie rose out of her seat and moved towards the door. ‘Guess I’ll just go back to my trailer and see if I can get some sleep.’ Trixie stopped as she reached the door to the ice-cream parlour, her eyes widening as realisation hit her. ‘Am I… Am I missing her?’

Meanwhile, in the air above the ice-cream parlour, Rainbow Dash flinched as she saw the blue mare walk through the door, and quickly took off before she could be noticed. “Argh! What the hay is wrong with me? Why am I acting so weirdly? I’m like Fluttershy was back when she-”

Rainbow halted immediately as memories of Flight School entered her mind. Memories of the time that Fluttershy acted stranger than usual, just days after the new colt moved in and started to talk to her.

Rainbow Dash looked back in the direction of the ice-cream parlour and her jaw hung open as the thought whirled around inside her head. ‘You’ve got to be kidding me…'

3 - The Show (Part III)

Rainbow Dash looked herself over in the mirror of his father’s guest room. I just a few minutes, she would be leaving to go and ‘challenge’ Trixie in front of a large audience. There was really no need to fuss over her appearance over something like this, but she couldn’t help but remember Trixie’s words the previous day.

“Trust me, the crowd will be judging you as much as me! And besides… you’ve got a nice mane, you should take full advantage of its beauty.”

Rainbow saw her face turning red in the mirror and quickly shook her head to clear all thoughts. “This is so stupid! Why am I crushing on Trixie of all ponies?” Rainbow felt her face heating up further as she spoke, and she fall backwards onto her bed with an aggravated groan.

It was after she had parted with Trixie two days ago at the ice-cream parlour that her suspicions first arose, and it was spending the day with Trixie yesterday that confirmed them.

“After the Great and Powerful Trixie is certain that the audience’s attention is focussed solely on our performances, and not on waiting for you to defeat Trixie, she shall give the signal for you to launch a sonic rainboom. The signal is- Are you even paying attention?”

Rainbow Dash turned her head to avert her gaze from Trixie’s eyes, which were now staring straight at her. “Yeah, I’m listening. Do you really think I should go sonic rainboom so early, though? I usually save that for the end.”

Trixie nodded, lowering her eyes back to the papers scattered across the floor of her trailer. “There will be a final sonic rainboom at the end, backed up by Trixie’s own magic to make it even more impressive than the first. The purpose of the first is simply to draw in those that, for whatever reason, chose not to come and see our show.”

Rainbow Dash looked back at Trixie, who was scanning through the papers before her almost as fast as Twilight reading through a book on… any subject, and with the same big smile on her face. The papers contained a detailed list of all of Rainbow Dash’s talents and air tricks, as requested by Trixie earlier that day.

“By the way, has anypony ever shown you a dictionary? There are more words in the Equine language than ‘awesome’ and ‘cool’.”

“Sorry, I must be using all my brainpower to remember that your name’s ‘Trixie’. Perhaps you should tell me a few more times to hammer it in there.”

Trixie looked up at Rainbow Dash with an un-amused stare, which was greeted to a smug grin from the Pegasus. Trixie then grinned herself and reached a hoof forward, poking Rainbow’s forehead once, who responded by batting the hoof away and scooting backwards a little bit. “You may be fast in the air, but up here…”

“Hey, I’m a doer, not a thinker!” Rainbow Dash responded. “I don’t follow stuff like schedules or timetables, and I don’t think about how things work whenever I fly. I just jump, spread my wings, and go fast!”

Trixie pulled back and put a hoof to her chin. “Oho? You never once thought about the science behind your flying techniques?”

“Of course I did. For like, two seconds. Then I got bored, ‘cause I wasn’t flying.” Rainbow’s ears twitched as she heard the sounds of somepony suppressing a giggle, and she shot Trixie a glare as the showmare snorted through her laughter. “What? You got a problem with the fact I’m not an egghead?”

“On the contrary. What you just said reminded Trixie of her own days back in Celestia’s School,” Trixie explained as soon as she had managed to calm herself down. “Trixie always found studying to be such a bore, and would much rather practice her magic than sit through one of those horrible lectures.”

“So how’d you deal with it? ‘Cause from what I’ve heard, that school only accepts the best of the best.”

Trixie’s grin grew even wider, threatening to split her face in two as she leaned in closer to Rainbow Dash. “The Great and Powerful Trixie was surrounded by snobs and pompous nobles, most of which believed that Trixie would drop out in less than a year. I proved them wrong, and it felt good. That’s why Trixie kept going, because it was all worth it in the end.” Trixie let out a sigh, before drooping her ears and looking down at the floor. “It was so good back then, when everypony respected Trixie and her magic…”

Rainbow Dash felt an uneasy feeling as she watched Trixie’s mood suddenly fall. She felt like she had to do something to cheer her up. To bring her back to her usual loud and arrogant self. This woeful and despondent look just didn’t fit the once-proud showmare at all.

“So, uh, what next then?” she asked, grabbing the sheet of paper that Trixie was writing their schedule onto and reading it over. “We’d better finish this quickly, if you’re gonna put on an awes- … Epic show tomorrow.”

Trixie slowly raised her head and studied the paper in Rainbow’s hooves. She seemed to be mulling something over for a few seconds, before her horn lit up and a purple glow surrounded the page, tearing it to shreds in just a few short moments.

Rainbow Dash was left completely stunned by this, and a little angry. “Hey! What did you do that for?! Don’t tell me you’re thinking of throwing in the towel all of a sudden!”

“… Rainbow Dash,” Trixie began, staring intently into Rainbow’s eyes. Rainbow Dash gulped, feeling uneasy as she stared back into the determined gaze. “… Change of plans, Rainbow Dash! Tomorrow’s show, is going to be an improvisation between the two of us!”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash tilted her head at the sudden declaration. “Uh… come again? You mean, we’re not following your ‘grand plan’ anymore?”

Trixie channelled her magic into picking up the scattered pieces of paper on the floor. “Oh, do not misunderstand. Trixie shall still lead, but since we’re short on time, she doubts that you will be able to memorise any kind of script that Trixie gives you.” Trixie placed the neatly stacked papers to one side and focused on Rainbow Dash. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will throw a challenge your way, and you shall respond to it however you wish. Simple, right?”

“But, would that even work? I mean, we barely even know each other.”

“Trixie thinks she knows enough about you for the two of us to work in synch,” Trixie said, before turning her face away to hide her blushing. “Trixie… feels that the two of us can connect to each other quite well… That you are very much like Trixie. Don’t you feel it too?”

Rainbow Dash scratched her head as she thought about how to respond. “Uh, well… I guess so, but this is your big comeback performance, y’know?”

“… Trixie trusts you,” Trixie said in a quiet voice. She quickly picked up her nearby bottle of water with her magic and brought it towards herself. “Trixie is well aware of the importance of tomorrow’s event, which is why she expects you to not let her down.”

That felt like a heavy load on the rainbow-maned Pegasus, and she was about to protest to the idea, insisting that they at least plan out half of the show beforehoof. But when she saw the excited look on Trixie’s face as she wandered off to practice retorts and phrases to lead the show on, she could only sit there and watch in content silence. She was happy to see Trixie happy, and she didn’t want to say or do anything that would depress her again.

Eventually, Rainbow Dash lost track of time, and when she realised how late it was and left, she felt a sinking feeling in her gut. When she returned home, her father asked her what was wrong, to which Rainbow Dash simply told him that she was feeling unwell and decided to go to bed early that night.

It was when she woke up this morning and thought over the events of yesterday clearly that she was able to admit the truth to herself. She felt happy when she saw Trixie smile, and her heart sank whenever she pictured Trixie being sad. She was more excited than she should have been for the upcoming show with Trixie, and she was dreading the end of said show, as it meant that the two of them would be finished with working together from then on.

And as if she needed anymore evidence, her dreams the previous night were filled with images of the boastful mare, flying alongside her through the sky and the two of them having fun together at various locations.

“Rainbow Dash?” The sound of her father’s voice made the Pegasus nearly jump out of her skin. She quickly turned to face him and tried to act as if nothing was wrong. “.. Somethin’ on your mind?”

“What? No, no, no, no, of course not!” Rainbow Dash answered, smiling and laughing to emphasise that she was alright. “So, uh, what’s up?”

“The sky,” Spectrum answered jokingly, earning a laugh from his daughter, though how much of it was forced he wasn’t sure of. “Actually, I was wondering if you’d fallen asleep or something. Didn’t you say you had plans with a friend right about now?”

Rainbow Dash looked over at her clock and bit her lip as she noticed the time. “Ah, horse- … Er, yeah, you’re right! Eheh… Guess I lost track of time…”

“… Dash, is there anything you want to talk about before you leave?”

Rainbow quickly shook her head. The last thing she wanted for her dad to know she was worrying herself over a crush. Or anypony, for that matter.

“Are you sure? You know you can talk to me about anything, Dash.” A moment of silence passed as Rainbow Dash gave the idea of talking to him about he problem a second thought, but was ultimately unable to reach a decision. “… Y’know, I hear you’ve been hanging out with ‘the Great and Powerful Trixie’ recently.”

“Y-You did?! You know?!”

Spectrum nodded. “I hear she had a… rather unfortunate change in her life, after passing through the town of Ponyville.” Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “Some say she holds a grudge against that town.” More silence. “And I know how easily my daughter gets drawn into fights, especially when it comes to defending her friends.”

“Okay, fine! We weren’t exactly on the best of terms, but we’re not fighting now, honest!”

“I know,” Spectrum said, surprising his daughter. “I hear you defended her in town a couple of times. And that you were seen playing with her in the park.”

Rainbow’s ears twitched at the word ‘playing’, and she gave her father a frown. “We weren’t playing. We were practising.”

“Oh? Practising for what?”

“… Okay, look, don’t tell anypony about this, but you see, we sorta have this deal thing goin’ on right now. Basically, I’m gonna help her get back on her hooves by staging a challenge with her, so that everypony will stay long enough for Trixie to actually put on a show.”

Spectrum hummed at the thought. “And you think that’ll work?”

“… If not, I’ll take responsibility.” Rainbow Dash could see the surprised and confused look in her father’s eyes. “I mean, I don’t want her living like that anymore. All on her own, and not even enough money to buy her own food. It was Fluttershy that dragged me out of the dumps back in Flight School, so… I guess, I just wanna live up to that example.”

After a brief moment of silence, Spectrum smiled and sat down next to his daughter, extending his wing to wrap it around her and pulling her close to him. Rainbow reacted by pretending to push herself away from it, but stopped sooner than usual.

“Rainbow Dash, you may not be the smartest or the wisest of ponies, and you have a sharp tongue that often gets you in trouble… but y’know what? You have something that so many others lack these days. You care for others, and you do whatever you can to help those in need. As your father, I’m so proud of you, Dash.”

Rainbow smiled at the compliment for a second, before going back to frowning for a few more seconds. Then, she put on a neutral face as she went over her dad’s words. ‘That’s right… This isn’t about whether I like Trixie or not, or what I should do if I do like her! Trixie needs my help, she’s counting on me! I have to put this show first, and these feelings second!’

Rainbow Dash quickly nuzzled her father, and then jumped off of the bed and picked up her bags. “Yeah, that’s right! Trixie’s… Well, whatever she is, she needs help from somepony, anypony! I told her I would help, and that’s just what I’m gonna do!” Running to the door, Rainbow Dash stopped for a second to turn back to her father. “Thanks, dad! I’ll be back later tonight!”

Spectrum tilted his head and began to speak, but was cut off by the bedroom door closing on a rainbow trail. “… Good luck,” he said quietly to nopony in particular, before smiling and pushing himself up to his hooves. He then sighed. “If only she could have put this much effort into making friends back in Flight School, instead of picking fights with everypony who so much as looked at her wrong… Well, at least she’s doing okay now. I should really send Fluttershy a thank you letter or something…”

Trixie tapped her hoof impatiently on her trailer floor as she waited for Rainbow Dash to show up. The meeting time had already passed, and the ponies outside were starting to grow restless already. ‘That airhead. Where is she? If she doesn’t show up soon… Well, it seems it was wrong of me to put my faith in her after all.’

Trixie sighed and sat down her bed, holding her hooves over her ears in a vain attempt to drown out the angry shouting and jeering outside. Trixie felt a tug in her chest, and lowered one hoof over it to feel her heartbeat. “Idiot. It’s not like ponies turning on you is anything new… It’s not like Rainbow Dash bailing on me was unexpected…”

“Hey, ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’!” Trixie jumped as she heard the familiar voice calling her name from outside. “Sorry I’m late! Figured I could afford it, since I’ll be kickin’ your butt in ten seconds flat anyway!”

The cheering outside caused Trixie to smile. It meant that the plan was working. The crowd sided with Rainbow Dash, so as long as she remained on stage with Trixie, they wouldn’t intervene with the show or leave before the show could get started. They would have the crowd’s attention… and that’s all that the Great and Powerful Trixie needed to get back on top.

It was now showtime.

“Well?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she hovered above the crowds. “You gonna come out or what?!” She was beginning to worry about Trixie’s absence, but the feeling was soon lifted as fireworks began to shoot out from the ground, and Trixie’s stage opened out, just as it had done the time that Rainbow Dash had seen Trixie’s performance in Ponyville.

“Fool! To challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie is one thing, but to actually show up…” A cloud of smoke covered the stage, and when it dissipated, there was a large black box sitting in the centre. On top of it stood the Great and Powerful Trixie herself. “Well, you certainly have courage, I shall give you that! Now then, Rainbow Dash, why don’t you show the Great and Powerful Trixie just what you’ve got?”

Rainbow Dash grinned and shot forward, stopping just mere inches away from Trixie. “Still callin’ yourself that? Well, after tonight, that title’ll belong to me!” The crowd cheered behind Rainbow Dash, making the Pegasus feel of mix of discomfort over Trixie’s position, and pride in herself.

“Oho? Well, if you wish to be as great and powerful as Trixie, then you must have a keen eye for detail. A sharp mind, and quick wit.”

“I got all that and more!”

Trixie chuckled and hopped down from her box. “Well then, Rainbow Dash, why don’t we put that to the test then, shall we?” The box opened up, and out of it stepped… Trixie. Another Trixie. The crowd stopped cheering for a moment as they beheld the perfect replica of the showmare’s self walking out onto the stage, taking a position on the other side of the box to the first Trixie, and then a wash of muttering swept over the audience.

“Which Trixie is the real Trixie? Figure that out, if you can.”

Rainbow Dash looked between the two Trixies, her jaw hanging open as she tried to find some way to tell the two apart. They were identical. The both looked the same, sounded the same when the second one began to talk, and they could both seemingly use magic, too. They even had the same smell-

‘Wait, something’s not right. Yesterday, that smell made me…’ Rainbow Dash blushed at the memory of just what Trixie’s smell had done to her, and tried to shake it off. But she knew that she was onto something. ‘The smell… There’s barely anything there. And… why don’t I feel anything looking into her eyes right now?’

Rainbow Dash looked between both Trixies one final time, before they both spoke up in unison. “Well?”

With a confident grin, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and turned around. “Duh! Neither of you are real!”

The two Trixie’s gave her surprised looks, before suddenly collapsing onto the floor. A flash of lightning attracted the crowd’s attention skyward, where a blue mare clad in a purple pointy hat and cape, both adorned with stars, stood looking down at the Pegasus onstage. “Well well. The Great and Powerful Trixie is impressed!”

Trixie jumped down from the cloud, startling the ponies directly below her and causing them to quickly move out of the way, save for one Pegasus, who quickly shot up to catch the falling mare. However, a flash of light surrounded Trixie, suspending her in midair and drifting her gently towards the stage. “And how was it that you saw through that little trick?” Trixie whispered once she was standing next to Rainbow Dash.

‘Because neither of them smelled like you.’ Rainbow blushed and whispered back: “Sorry, trade secret.”

Trixie grinned. She was liking this mare more and more… ‘Idiot! Don’t get attached, just focus on the show…’

Clearing her throat, Trixie turned to Rainbow Dash and pointed a hoof forward. “Very well then, Rainbow Dash. The Great and Powerful Trixie has seen you worthy enough of actually challenging her directly! After days of pestering her for this privilege, you shall finally get it! Feel honoured!”

Rainbow looked into the crowd, and was pleased to see that the cover story for why the two had been hanging out lately had gone over well with most of the ponies present.

“Oh, you know. I just figured I’d see if you truly live up to your boasts or not. A giant space bear didn’t really help me gauge your skill.” Rainbow hoped that mentioning that would make many ponies question how embarrassing it really is to lose to something that even the Royal Guard would have trouble fighting against. Instead, it just seemed to rile the showmare up.

“Bite your tongue! Whilst it is true that that ursa minor had caught Trixie off guard, rest assured that she will have no problem making quick work of the likes of you! However, the Great and Powerful Trixie likes to avoid violence if she can-”

“Horseapples!” somepony in the audience shouted. A quick glance revealed it to be the pony that Trixie had kicked a few days ago.

“Quiet!” Rainbow Dash shouted, surprising the crowd. “I like to fight my own battles, thank you very much! You guys just watch my awesomeness as I show this pony her place!”

“You mean ‘phoney’!” somepony else shouted, which soon received a quick glare from both Rainbow Dash and Trixie, silencing both that pony, and everypony else.

“… Anyway, as Trixie was saying, the Great and Powerful Trixie much prefers a battle of skill and style, than a battle of kicks!”

“Sounds good to me!” Rainbow Dash shouted excitedly as she took to the sky. “I noticed you standin’ on that cloud over there.”

“Simple cloud walking spell. Well, simple for the Great and Powerful Trixie, at least.”

“That so? Trying to invade the realm of us Pegasi huh?” Rainbow Dash lowered a bit, and pressed her hoof to the brim of Trixie’s hat. “Perhaps you’re jealous?”

Trixie scoffed as the audience ‘oooh’d and leaned closer to hear clearly her response. “Jealous? Not at all. Land, sea, or air, none of these can contain the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Really? Well, let’s see you try to do this!” Rainbow Dash soared into the sky at an incredibly high speed, changing direction and spinning around so many times in such a short time span that any other Pegasus would become dizzy from it. But not her. Not the fastest flyer in all of Equestria. And when she was done, a bright rainbow trail made sure that her name was known to everypony in the crowd.

“Impressive. All that Trixie can do is…” Trixie closed her eyes and focussed. Her magic reached out high into the sky, and grabbed the rainbow trail, compressing it into one small space, before stretching it out form a butterfly. The audience gasped and stared at the beautiful shape in wonder, and some even voiced their appreciation for it. The plan was working for Trixie, she just needed to go the extra mile.

“Come on, Rainbow Dash! Surely you have a move superior to that!”

Rainbow Dash landed next to Trixie and gave her a questioning look. ‘Is she serious? She wants to rainboom already?’ Trixie nodded, as if she had read the Pegasus’ thoughts. The thought of that made Rainbow Dash shudder, but she quickly composed herself. ‘Alright, if that’s what she wants…’

“Heh, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” Rainbow Dash rocketed into the air again, flying much higher and faster that last time, and closed her eyes as she felt it nearing.

Trixie closed her own eyes and focussed her magic. Timing was the key here, and the wireless tap she had placed on Rainbow Dash during the whole puppet performance was going to tell her when to set off her spell.

Trixie bit her lip. The magic in her horn was starting to burn now, but she needed to keep it in place until it was time. Rainbow Dash was nearing the edge, she could tell. Finally, she heard the bang that could only be heard from Rainbow’s position, that signalled the rainboom would be coming the very next second.

Releasing her magic, the crowd looked up as they too heard a bang just seconds after Trixie, and were in awe at the fantastic rainboom exploding outwards above them… accompanied by shooting stars, a meteor show, constellations… essentially all the beauty of the night sky, working together with the rainbow – a wonder seen only in the daytime sky – to create a rare spectacle that left the audience in a state of wonder and astonishment.

Even Rainbow Dash had to stop for a moment to admire the fruits of their combined efforts, before remembering that they still had a show to do. And now that the crowd’s hostility towards Trixie seemed to have died down a bit, it was time for the real show to begin.

“That… was… GREAT!” Trixie beamed as her hat was lifted off of her head and floated towards the hanger next to her door. “The ponies out there loved Trixie! They practically ate her up! They were cheering, and screaming for more, and throwing roses, not produce, and-”

“I know,” Rainbow Dash said from her seated position on Trixie’s bed, watching the excited mare trotting back and forth. “I was there, remember?”

“And out of all those who wanted Trixie’s autograph, one of them really stood out! That little filly, who asked Trixie to teach her magic! Nopony’s asked Trixie for teaching lessons since before the ursa minor incident!”

“Again, I was right there,” Rainbow Dash reminded her, though she couldn’t help but smirk as she watched Trixie dancing around the room like a filly who had just had their first (successful) date. She was glad that everything had worked out so well, and decided to let Trixie enjoy this moment.

However, the showmare suddenly stopped and turned to face Rainbow Dash with a serious look on her face. Rainbow tensed up a little bit and stared back at Trixie, wondering what the sudden change in attitude was all about.

“… Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” Trixie said in a soft, quiet tone as she approached the Pegasus. Rainbow Dash was too surprised by the sudden show of gratitude to say anything, and only realised how close Trixie was getting when it was too late, and the other mare’s face was close enough to her own that she could feel her breathing. “You know, the Great and Powerful Trixie did not trust you for a second.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and turned her head to the side, both as a means to play it cool, and to avoid the showmare’s gaze. “Gee, thanks.”

“Trixie thought that you were merely trying to set her up for a malicious hoax, or that you were perhaps using her for some ulterior motive. A part of her wanted to trust you, but it was clouded by the part that told her you would abandon her at a moment’s notice.”

“… I don’t do that to ponies. I thought I told you that.”

“And Trixie had a reason to trust your word?” No response came, so Trixie continued. “… Thank you, for both helping me out… and proving me wrong.” Rainbow turned back to Trixie, her eyes widened by a second wave of surprise. “As it turns out, there are ponies out there that Trixie can trust, and who are still willing to give Trixie a chance…” Trixie leaned forward to rest her chin on Rainbow’s shoulder. “You’re going back to Ponyville soon, aren’t you?”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. If it was one of her friends, she would have been okay with the sudden display of affection, but obviously would never admit it outright. If it was some stranger, she would have pushed them away without a second thought. But Trixie was… What was she, exactly?

The first time the two of them had met, Rainbow Dash felt excited with the idea of another flashy, talented pony to compete with, but when she learned that her friends didn’t like her, she played along for the sake of not losing their trust. Trixie left before Rainbow Dash could have that full one-on-one competition with her, and in a rather uncourteous manner to the one who had just saved her life, too, but Twilight told her to just let it go.

The second time that they had met, Trixie was suddenly wreaking havoc in Ponyville, and bullying ponies who had so much as gotten within her vicinity. After finding out about the Alicorn Amulet and its corruption, she sought to do whatever she could to help not only Ponyville, but Trixie herself. With the amulet successfully removed, Trixie fled once again, and Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure whether to speak to her or simply let her go again.

Now, she had spent the past few days with Trixie and had gotten to know her a little bit. She had learned some bits about the showmare’s past, discovered some of Trixie’s likes and dislikes, and even discerned what kind of pony she was personality-wise, at least a little bit. But it still wasn’t enough; as she thought about it, she realised that she still had things she wanted to talk about with Trixie. She still wanted to hang out some more, to have a real competition with her, and to…

“Yeah,” Rainbow finally said after a lengthy pause. “I’ll be going back to Ponyville tomorrow. Catchin’ the afternoon train…”

“I see,” Trixie said, her voice almost a whisper. She sighed and pulled back away from Rainbow Dash. “Well, as you can see, Trixie does not have much to offer you now… but, come back sometime soon, and she will make sure that you are adequately rewarded.”

Rainbow raised a hoof and waved it dismissively in front of Trixie. “Nah, it’s cool. You don’t have to-”

“Trixie insists,” Trixie said sharply, cutting Rainbow off. “With hecklers, the Great and Powerful Trixie holds nothing back. But, when somepony does Trixie a great service, she is quick to show her gratitude. Otherwise karma will just hit Trixie later.”

Rainbow almost let out a laugh, but managed to hold it in. ‘She actually believes in that stuff?’ She noticed Trixie’s raised eyebrow, and quickly composed herself. “Uh… Y’know, you could always come visit Ponyville with me. It’s a pretty cool town, when it’s not being attacked by giant bears, swarms of cute bugs, or turned upside down by Spirits of Chaos.”

Trixie was quick to shake her head at the invitation, not at all to Rainbow’s surprise. “You honestly think that’s a good idea? Consider how ponies treat Trixie all over Equestria. Now consider how the ponies who are related to all her problems would react if they saw Trixie walking through their town.”

“I’m sure they won’t mind,” Rainbow Dash said with a reassuring smile. “They looked past a dragon who caused thousands of bits worth of damage to their town, and a Unicorn who cast a freaky enchanting spell on everypony by mistake. And besides, you’ll be with me!”

Trixie still looked unsure. “I don’t know…”

“And… I wanna hang out more.” Now it was Trixie’s turn to look surprised. “I, uh… You… You’re a cool mare an’ all, but, we hardly got much chance to really do a lot of fun stuff these past few days. And, I still don’t know a lot about you.”

Trixie grinned and flicked her mane at the last statement. “Well, mystery is part of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s allure…”

Rainbow Dash gulped as she looked into Trixie’s calm, confident eyes. She slowly raised her hooves and reached forward, placing them on Trixie’s shoulders and pulling the showmare closer towards her. “I wanna spend more time with you, okay? There’s… something I need to find out.”

Trixie’s face started to turn red as she felt herself being drawn closer and closer to Rainbow Dash, but she made no effort to pull back. “Oh? What’s that?” she asked, her heart racing and her breathing slowing down.

Rainbow Dash said nothing, but also stopped her advance as she realised what she was about to do. Doubt spread throughout her mind, telling her that what she was doing was a mistake. That she had to stop right now, before she crossed a line that was never meant to be crossed, and did something that she would never be able to take back. She was now just staring into Trixie’s eyes, her hooves shaking and any words she managed to form getting stuck in her throat.

After a full minute of waiting, Trixie started to grow impatient, and decided to take the initiative herself. Though as confident as she was in herself, she found that making a move was indeed as difficult as Rainbow Dash was making it out to be. Her unsteady hooves lifted up from the floor and started to make their way up towards the sides of the Pegasus’ head, slowly but surely.

“Trixie,” Rainbow Dash began as she noticed Trixie’s movements, “I-I’m sorry, I-”

“Dash,” Trixie said as she her hooves finally reached their destination, grabbing Rainbow’s head and holding it in place, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is… feeling something weird right now, and wants to explore it as much as you do.” Trixie slowly started to move her face forward.

“A-Are you sure? Isn’t this… like, a little fast, or something?”

“…” Trixie stopped for a moment to consider it. “… Trixie has met many ponies on her travels. There were ponies that Trixie hated, and ponies she liked. But, there was never a pony that Trixie particularly enjoyed the company of, so much so that it affected even her dreams. Trixie put her faith in you, and was rewarded with something great.” Trixie resumed moving in towards Rainbow’s face. “Trixie’s heart is telling her that she wants this, and so, she’s going to take another chance.”

Rainbow swallowed the lump in her throat. She closed her eyes and she saw Trixie’s lips inching closer and closer, and as she them connect with her own, she wrapped her forehooves around the other mare’s neck to hold her in place. ‘This is… totally different from all those times I was just experimenting in Flight School.’

The kiss lasted for a much longer time than Trixie had intended it to. She felt a warm feeling wash over her body, almost similar to when she had discovered her special talent, or when she was awarded her degree from Celestia’s School in front of all those ponies who had doubted her. She felt at peace, and she didn’t want it to end any time soon.

Eventually, though, she had to pull back. Even the Great and Powerful Trixie needed oxygen, after all. As the two caught up on all the breathing that they had missed, they never once released one another from the embrace they had worked themselves into.

After she could finally speak once more, Trixie smiled and leaned in close to Rainbow Dash, whispering into her ear: “Trixie will meet you at the train station tomorrow afternoon. Don’t you dare board without her.”

Rainbow Dash smiled back and simply nodded in response. ‘Well… I guess there’s no going back now.’ Pushing Trixie forward, Rainbow Dash moved in for a second kiss, which was eagerly returned by the other mare.

Spectrum looked up at the clock hanging on his wall. It was fifteen minutes until midnight, and there was still no sign of Rainbow Dash anywhere. A smile graced his face as he rose out of his chair and started to make his way upstairs. “Well, she’s a big girl now. I’m sure she’s just having so much fun this friend that she simply lost track of time. She knows where the spare key is hidden, anyway…”

Author's Note

Man, these first three chapters were a lot easier to envision in my head. Actually writing them down was more challenging than I thought... But now that they're over, we can move on to what we all came here for: a look into the life of Ponyville's newest ~~safety hazard~~ ~~sleep preventer~~ cute couple ^_^

5 - Welcome To Ponyville (Part I)

Twilight Sparkle was on the edge of her seat, both figuratively and literally. Sweat was running down her head as her brain was working overtime, trying to make sense of the ridiculous situation it had been presented with. She had tried looking at the problem from every available angle, used every mathematical formula she knew of, and even consulted a dozen books, but was still no closer to solving the mystery. At one point she had tried contacting an expert, but the only response she received was that it was useless, and she should just give up. But Twilight refused to give up! No matter what her books or that expert say, there had to be a way! Twilight refused to believe that she was about to lose to the likes of Pinkie Pie!

“Twilight, I think you’re running out of time,” Pinkie said as she watched her foe with mild amusement. “Wowzers, you were right! This game is hard on the brain! I’m gonna need twice as much sugar than I usually have tonight.”

Pinkie’s comment didn’t register with Twilight. All she could focus on was the fact that Pinkie Pie, a self-proclaimed beginner, was just one move away from putting her in checkmate. And no matter what strategy Twilight came up with, no matter how hard she thought, the result would always be the same.

‘How did I not see this happening?!’ Twilight thought to herself. ‘I thought Pinkie was just making sloppy, amateurish moves, but all this time she’s been setting up for this endgame! What kind of secret genius is she?’

“Twilight, the clock-”

“OKAY!” Twilight exclaimed, using her magic to grab her final pawn and move it forward one square. ‘Here goes nothing… Might as well just get it over wit-’

“Aha! Got you now!” Pinkie exclaimed as she moved her bishop to claim Twilight’s last pawn.

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she beheld Pinkie with an expression of shock, and slight rage. ‘S-She just wasted a perfectly good opportunity to trap my King! What’s more, now I have an opening to counter-attack! Do you mean to tell me… after all this time…’ “You really didn’t see it?”

“See what? That I just got your last lil’ guy?”

If Twilight’s hoof connected with her face any harder, she would have been at risk of gaining a concussion. ‘Of course… I should have known it was just all dumb luck that the pieces ended up that way.’ Breathing a heavy, calming sigh, Twilight composed herself, and moved her King back one square. “Okay, you’re move.”

“Uh, Twilight?” Spike called out from behind the purple mare. “Isn’t Rainbow’s train gonna be here soon?”

Twilight and Pinkie both turned their attention to the clock hanging on the wall beside them. “He’s right!” Pinkie said with a gasp. “We’ve gotta get to the station so we can welcome Dash back and get our souvenirs!” Pinkie noticed the look that Twilight was giving her and gave a sheepish grin. “Mostly to welcome her back, though.”

“You’re right. We should put this game on-hold for now.” Twilight used her magic to stop her gaming clock and to create a force field to cover the board. “Spike, could you grab the letters Rainbow Dash had forwarded here?”

“Sure can,” Spike said with a salute, turning around and running upstairs to their bedroom. When he returned a few moments with a small box of envelopes in his claws, Twilight used her magic to place the box on top of her back. “Why does she have so many letters, anyway?”

“I’d wager most of them are from her fan club,” Twilight answered with a role of her eyes. “Did you notice how many of them had hearts? That means that they’re either from her fan club, or…”

“… Or what?” Spike asked, noticing that Twilight seemed to have trailed off.

“Er, well… let’s just say that Rainbow Dash attracts more than just the admiration of children…”

Noticing the confused look on Spike’s face, Pinkie Pie decided to help out by explaining things more clearly. “She gets lots of letters from ponies that wanna take her out for a night on the town!”

Spike immediately understood what they were saying. “Ooooh…” When he gave it a bit of time to sink in, he made a gagging expression. “Gross.”

Twilight giggled as she made her way towards the library door. “You won’t think the same when you’re older, and those dragon hormones of yours start to kick… in…” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Come to think of it, I wonder when that will even be?”

After a long moment of silence passed, where Twilight simply stood still, assuming her ‘deep thinking’ pose, and Pinkie Pie simply stood still, looking like a statue, Spike decided to speak up. “Uh, Twilight?”

Twilight snapped out of her thoughts, remembering what she was supposed to be doing. “Er, right! Well then, to the train station!” The three friends left the library and began to make their way towards the nearby train station, where they could already see their other friends waiting for them.

“Still, if Dash of all ponies starts to get all lovey-dovey and mushy…” Spike shuddered at the very thought of it. “I need some guy friends.”

“Well, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” Twilight told him. “I can’t picture Rainbow Dash settling down just yet. She strikes me as the kind who likes to fly freely, without another pony tying her down.”

“The fierce wind that cannot be tamed!” Pinkie exclaimed, grinning widely.

“Er, yeah. Let’s go with that.” As the three arrived at the train station’s platform, they were greeted by their other friends. Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were all waiting together for the train to arrive. “Hi everypony,” Twilight greeted cheerfully as she approached her friends.

“Afternoon, Twi,” Applejack responded as she turned to face the purple mare. “Train should be gettin’ here any second now. And boy, have we got news for y’all!”

“Oh?”

“We’ll tell you after Rainbow Dash is here,” Rarity said, exchanging a smile with Applejack. “This is something we want everypony here for to announce.”

“Oh, here it comes,” Fluttershy informed everyone, pointing a hoof towards the train approaching the station. She turned her attention to the pink pony standing at the ready with her party canon facing where the train would pull into the station. “Um, Pinkie Pie, I don’t think you should stand so close to the-”

“Oh, it’ll be fine!” Pinkie Pie reached into her canon and pulled out a football helmet to place onto her head. “See? Pinkie Pie always thinks of safety first, and fun a very close second!”

A purple glow around Pinkie Pie and her party canon pulled the two away from the edge of the platform, placing them beside Twilight as the train began to pull into the station. Pinkie pouted, but then quickly recovered as the train’s doors began to open. After a few ponies left the train, the one that the six friends were waiting for came out next… only, she was wearing something that took all of them by surprise. The rainbow-maned mare herself was also surprised by the sudden stream of confetti blown her way.

“Oh, hey guys!” she said to everypony after the initial shock of being suddenly assaulted by colourful pieces of paper was out of the way. “Uh… what’s up?”

The five mares all looked at each other, hoping that somepony would step up and ask what Rainbow Dash was doing wearing the hat and cape that belonged to a certain showmare that they were all familiar with. Luckily for them, they didn’t have to, as Spike was quick to step up to the plate.

“Uh, Dash? What’s with the clothes?”

The pony looked at her purple cape, and then back up to the six friends. “Ah, right. These.” She motioned a hoof over her cape, covering the entirety of her body, and her hat, lowered so that it obscured a good portion of her face. “Actually, I have a surprise for all of you.”

Pinkie Pie gasped and hopped closer to her friend. “You got us some of Baltimare’s unbeatable out-of-this-world so yummy it’ll make you weep with joy fudge?!”

The blue pony took a step back from Pinkie Pie’s sudden closeness and hyperactivity. “Uh… no.” Pinkie Pie deflated and backed away solemnly. “Actually, something… kinda cool happened during my trip.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. Something seemed off, besides the hat and cape of course, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it. “Something involving… you-know-who, I’m guessing?”

“Er, yeah… Y’see, I kinda met Trixie in Baltimare, and I… Um… I kinda lost a bet against her, so now I’m her…” The blue mare trailed off into a mumble, which clearly fell on deaf ears from the looks she got from the five mares and one dragon in front of her. “I’m her… s-servant… I-It’s just a stupid lil’ wager thing, it’ll only last a little while.”

“Ye’re Trixie’s servant?” Applejack asked, her eyes wide with surprise. “What exactly do y’all mean by that?”

“Uh, you know… Helping her set up her shows, fetching her drinks… massaging her stupid back…”

“She can’t make you do that!” Rarity protested.

“I lost a bet. I don’t really have much choice.”

“Well then, how about we make a bet of our own?” Applejack asked, looking around the platform area. “Where is she, anyway?”

“Oh, she’s getting her trailer from a car further down. She should be here in-” The sound of a firework being set of startled everyone present. “… Now.”

The group of friends turned to see a familiar wooden structure moving their way. It was… dirtier than the last time they remembered seeing it, and seemed to be on its last legs, but it was unmistakeably the trailer that belonged to the one and only showmare who had passed through not so long ago, wielding an amulet that gave her incredible powers, and caused stirred quite a bit of chaos within the town.

Twilight was the first to approach the trailer, her friends following to show that they had her back. Flaring her wings and clearing her throat, Twilight announced in an authoritative tone: “Trixie! We know you’re in there, and we want to challenge you for Rainbow Dash’s freedom!” There was no response for a few seconds. “Well?”

Finally, the door to Trixie’s trailer opened up, and the six friends backed up as they prepared to come face-to-face with…

“R-Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, beholding the rainbow-maned, blue-coated Pegasus now standing before her, looking down at her friends with barely-contained laughter… which then broke out completely.

“Oh wow, I can’t believe that actually worked!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, falling onto her back and holding her stomach as she continued to laugh so much her sides began to hurt. “You thought… You thought I had actually gambled my own freedom away? Man, you guys are so gullible!”

“Hold on, ah don’t understand,” Applejack said, turning to her friends. “If that’s Dash, then who’s that?” she asked as she turned to the other blue-coated pony standing behind them.

Twilight also turned to face her, a deadpan look on her face as she figured it out. “You can’t be serious.”

A cloud of smoke emerged around the mare, hiding her from sight as she channelled some magic into her spell. She felt her mane changing and used her magic to remove the dye she had put into it, and also to remove the lighting effect she had put into her coat to make it match the same shade as Rainbow Dash’s. Finally, she removed the earpiece that was connected to Rainbow Dash’s microphone and cancelled her voice-manipulation spell.

As the smoke vanished, standing before the group of friends in a proud, confident pose with a victorious look on her face, was none other than the Great and Powerful Trixie herself. “Trixie told you not to doubt her abilities, Dashie. Even your friends could not see through her flawless disguise.”

“I still say you got my accent wrong, and you kept adding words I never said,” Rainbow Dash said, extending her wings and flying over to Trixie. “Not to mention you got my colours completely wrong. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t have pink in my mane.”

Trixie waved a hoof. “That was not pink, it was light-red.”

“Uh, guys?” The two stopped their private conversation and turned to face the six unfortunate victims of their little prank. Five of the faces they saw were either shock, confusion, or a mix of both. Twilight seemed to have an exasperated, yet curious look. It was Spike who had called out to them. “What’s the deal? Why’re you and Trixie… acting like friends?”

“An’ what was the big idea trickin’ us all like that?” Applejack asked, coming out of her surprise and starting to feel a little angry at her friend, partially for worrying her, but mostly because she couldn’t believe that Rainbow Dash would pull a prank literally the moment she returned to Ponyville. ‘Though ah guess ah should’ve expected it, ta be honest.’

“Oh, that. Juuuust a little wager me and Trixie had,” Rainbow Dash explained. “She thought she could easily trick you all into thinking she was me, and I told her there was no way you guys’d fall for it.” Rainbow Dash suddenly crossed her forelegs and narrowed her eyes at her friends. “Thanks for that, by the way. Nice to know you guys know your friend so well.”

Fluttershy timidly rose a hoof. “Um, I… kind of thought that she was acting a little off for Rainbow Dash, but I… I didn’t want to say anything and risk offending you, so I-”

“So you’re not her slave or anything then?” Pinkie Pie asked, receiving a shake from Rainbow’s head. “Shoot! I was gonna throw you a ‘Rainbow got her freedom back’ party!”

Rainbow Dash and Trixie exchanged knowing grins, and moved closer together as the former wrapped a wing around her partner’s body. “Actually, Pinkie Pie, you might still get that party after all. ‘Cause Trixie and I are actually…” Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, considering how to best word this. “… Going out,” she decided to settle on.

She was very amused by the reactions that it received. With the exception of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, her friends seemed to have been turned to stone… In fact, Rainbow Dash entertained the idea of drawing moustaches onto each of them, until she saw Spike throw a claw into his face and shake his head with a groan. “I need more guy friends…”

After shaking Applejack and Rarity to free them from their shock-induced paralysis, dumping some water over Twilight to cool her down, and allowing Pinkie Pie to explode from joy, Rainbow Dash decided to help Trixie move her trailer to a nice spot somewhere in Ponyville.

Pinkie Pie had run off to prepare for a party that was to take place that evening, and the others, bar Fluttershy, who was just as agreeable as Rainbow Dash had predicted, each said that they needed some time to let the news sink in… but all offered their congratulations nonetheless.

After finding a nice spot just on the edge of Ponyville, in a lot that had been empty for so long that the mayor had pretty much given up on trying to sell it, the two decided to take a quick break before exploring Ponyville together.

“Well, that went well,” Rainbow Dash said as she entered the trailer, closing the door behind her. “At least no big disasters happ-”

“Went well my hoof!” Trixie exclaimed as soon as the door was shut. “That prank may have helped to calm Trixie’s nerves a little bit, but the Great and Powerful Trixie thinks she may have overestimated her own heart! She thought for sure that a fight would break out at any second, and then Trixie would have to leave you after only a day of us… being together…”

Rainbow Dash was surprised, to say the least, to see Trixie acting this way. The showmare always had a calm, cool appearance, even when hungry or tired. It occurred to Rainbow Dash that maybe Trixie was just putting on a tough front all those times, to protect herself from others, but if that were the case, why drop that defence now?

‘Does she… Is she showing me her true self because she trusts me?’ Rainbow shook her head. ‘No way. We only agreed to go steady yesterday, there’s no way she can have that much faith in me… right?’

“The pink and yellow ones aside, the rest of your friends didn’t seem all that thrilled to hear the news of you dating Trixie.”

“Aah, they’ll be fine,” Rainbow said in a confident tone. “They just need some time to think it over ‘cause they’re eggheads… and Applejack. Trust me, if they didn’t start a fight with you when they first saw you, you’re in the clear.”

Trixie scoffed. “Do not underestimate what lengths ponies will go through to humiliate others. Maybe they just want to wait until you’re not around, have you ever considered that?”

Rainbow Dash grabbed a hold of Trixie’s shoulders and gave the Unicorn a stern look. “Look, if it was somepony else, I’d have made sure that wouldn’t happen. But these are my friends, Trixie, and I trust them.”

“… But they-”

“But nothing. I’d trust them with my life if I had to. Isn’t that enough for you to trust them, too?”

Trixie was silent for a few seconds as she thought about it. “Trixie… cannot trust them that easily,” she said, quickly continuing when she saw Rainbow Dash about to speak up. “But Trixie will put her faith in what you say about them, for now.”

Deciding that that was the best she was going to get out of her, Rainbow decided to accept it and release the showmare. Trixie, however, had other plans, and used her magic to force Rainbow’s forelegs to lock around her neck. “Hey, I thought you wanted to see Ponyville.”

“It can wait. If we’re going to this party later, then the Great and Powerful Trixie demands your attention now.” Trixie leaned forward and locked her lips with Rainbow Dash’s, closing her eyes as she opened up and sent her tongue into action.

Rainbow Dash pulled away for a moment to speak. “Wasn’t our time in the train enough for ya?” she asked before going back in.

Trixie pulled back. “Not by a long shot. You have quite an addictive taste, Rainbow Dash.”

The two continued their tongue-wrestling session for a few minutes, with Trixie trying her hoof at toying with Rainbow’s wings, and Rainbow Dash offering guidance to the inexperienced mare on what parts felt good and which parts were painful.

When the time came that Trixie wanted to move onto the main event, Rainbow Dash stopped her and backed away. “Hold on.”

“What now?” Trixie asked in an annoyed tone. “Anypony would feel lucky to have the Great and Powerful Trixie even consider touching them in such a way.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, the sarcasm heavy in her voice. “I was just thinking, we’ve got the party after this, right?” Trixie nodded. “Well, my place has a shower. If we’re gonna continue, I think it should be there.”

Trixie considered the proposal, and then nodded in agreement. “Fine, just let Trixie cast the cloud-walking spell…” Trixie’s horn lit up, soon followed by her hooves. When the light faded, Rainbow Dash grinned and lunged at Trixie. “WAH!” Trixie was caught off guard as Rainbow Dash swept her off of her hooves, grabbing and carrying her in her forelegs as she flew out of Trixie’s trailer and into the air. “RAINBOW DASH, WARN TRIXIE BEFORE YOU DO THAT!”

“It’s your own fault!” Rainbow Dash responded. “You made me impatient! Just hold on tight! We’ll be there soon!”

Trixie did indeed hold onto Rainbow Dash as they flew… for all of three seconds, before she realised how stupid she must have looked, and quickly let go, taking advantage of the wind blowing her mane to hide her red face from the Pegasus carrying her.

Later that day, down at the Golden Oaks Library, Rarity arrived with the intention of helping her friends set up the party to congratulate Rainbow Dash on her newfound love… only to find that the job had already been done, with the once quaint and quiet place now looking like the aftermath of a children’s birthday party.

“Oh my,” she said as she stepped inside, getting the attention of everypony else present, which was everypony except for the guests of honour. “I’m terribly sorry, girls. If I had known you would be here sooner, I would have also left early to help you all set things up.”

“Think nothin’ of it,” Applejack said, walking over to Rarity and laying a gentle nuzzle on her cheek. “It was already like this when ah got here, an’ ah was the first ta arrive.”

“Pinkie set it all up on her own,” Twilight said, giving the pink mare a mild glare. “Whilst I was busy preparing the checklist for setting up a surprise party that she completely ignored.”

Pinkie Pie, wearing a fake moustache and a hardhat, with a mug of coffee in one hoof, responded: “Leave it to the professionals, Twilight.” She took a sip of her coffee and gave a pleasant sigh. “This may just be my best party yet. Or, maybe tied second with that time Spike lost his last baby tooth. Or tied fifth with the time I thought Sweetie Belle found her Cutie Mark but it turned out I was just dreaming? Boy, was my face red after that! Hey, speaking of faces turning red, anypony remember when-”

“So, any idea when Rainbow Dash and… you-know-who, will arrive?” Rarity asked Twilight, cutting off Pinkie’s rambling in the background.

“Well,” Twilight began, “The party is scheduled to start in fifteen minutes, but knowing Rainbow Dash, that doesn’t mean a thing to her. She has a tendency to just show up whenever she feels like it.”

“True that,” Applejack said, nodding her head along with Rarity and Fluttershy. “Why, the amount of times we arranged ta meet up for a race an’ then she shows up late…”

“Or all of the times she agreed to model for my new fashion line and then never shows up at all,” Rarity said, huffing a kicking a stomping a hoof onto the floor.

“She, uh… She’s better now, but in Flight School, she used to cut class with me to go watch the Wonderbolts.”

“You?!” Rarity asked, completely shocked by the revelation. “Fluttershy darling, you used to cut class? That I can hardly believe.”

“Lemme guess: she dragged ya along without asking ya, didn’t she?” Applejack asked, but her only response was Fluttershy averting her eyes and scuffing a hoof against the floor. “Ah thought so. Anyway, what’re we all gonna do ‘bout… y’know…”

“Well I think-” Twilight began, only to be cut off by a knock at the door. “She’s here early?”

“Makes sense,” Applejack said. “A Pinkie party means best cake in all of Ponyville, after all.”

“Now remember, girls, this is really important to Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said in a stern tone, though she wasn’t sure if anypony had actually heard her. “S-So I think we should… show our support and… and even if you-”

“Hey guys!” Rainbow Dash greeted as Twilight opened the door. “What’s up?”

Rainbow Dash walked into the library, followed by Trixie, who once again struck out to Twilight. This time it wasn’t her odd way of speaking whilst acting like Rainbow Dash, but something about her seemed strange. Twilight couldn’t quite put her hoof on it, though.

“This place is a little cramped for a party, isn’t it?” Trixie asked, looking around and examining the main room of the library. “And isn’t a library an odd place for this sort of event anyway?”

“Well Twilight lives here,” Rainbow Dash said. “So it’s also her house.”

“And Sugarcube Corner can’t be used tonight ‘cause the twins are taking their naps!” Pinkie Pie added, hopping over and placing party hats onto both mares’ heads. Rainbow’s was a blue one, and Trixie’s a rainbow-striped one, each one with a pink love heart on the front.

Rarity caught a familiar scent in the air and gave the two guests of honour a suspicious look. “Rainbow Dash, did the two of you shower before coming here?”

Rainbow Dash froze in place, and Applejack brought a hoof to her chin as she examined the Pegasus more closely. “It does look like that, but what’s so strange ‘bout showering before coming to a party?”

“For Rainbow Dash? Everything,” Rarity replied.

“Hmmm, ya got a point there.”

“Well, we had to shower because we-” Trixie began to explain, but was cut off by Rainbow’s wing extending and covering her mouth.

“Because we, uh… got soaked by all the rain?”

“It was raining?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Huh, how’d I miss that?”

“I’ve got it!” Twilight shouted, causing everyone to jump and turn their attention towards her. “Trixie cape! The collar is up!”

Trixie’s eyes widened and she quickly brought a hoof up to hold onto her cape’s collar. “Eheheh… W-What are you talking about? T-This is how the Great and Powerful Trixie always wears her collar…”

“Nope, she’s right!” Pinkie Pie shouted, popping up behind Trixie with a magnifying glass. “Hmmm, very suspicious… What are you hiding?”

“N-Nothing! The Great and Powerful Trixie has nothing to hide!” Pinkie Pie grabbed the collar and pulled it down, so fast that Trixie could not do anything to stop it. “Hey! What are you-”

“Ah-hah!” Pinkie exclaimed as hse held her magnifying glass over a small purple mark on Trixie’s neck. “I knew it! It’s… Actually, what is tha-” Pinkie dropped her magnifying glass and turned to Rainbow Dash, who was now backing away nervously with a sheepish grin on her face. “You gave Trixie a hickey!”

“She what?!” Applejack shouted, looking at the Pegasus with a disbelieving look on her face.

“You jest!” Rarity shouted in an excited tone, running over to Trixie to confirm it for herself. “Oh my goodness, she really did!” A light bulb went off in Rarity’s head, and she turned to Rainbow Dash with a sly, knowing grin. “And I think I just figured out why the two of you showered before coming here.”

It took a moment, but Applejack managed to quickly put the pieces together herself. “Oooh…” Applejack approached Rainbow Dash with a grin of her own. “Ah see. You two were gettin’ all lovey-dovey while the rest of us were gettin’ ready ta throw y’all a party. Well, ah guess this confirms this ain’t another one of yer pranks.”

Rainbow Dash looked at Trixie with an annoyed look on her face, whilst Trixie simply shrugged and used her magic to pull up her collar again, her own face turning red. “Don’t look this way, Dashie! Trixie told you not to defile her skin like that!”

“Let’s see… Hickey, hickey…” Twilight flipped through her book entitled Modern-Day Slang and You, and found the entry that she was looking for. “… Ewww! Why would you do that?!”

“Trixie and Dash sittin’ on a cloud,” Applejack began to sing, causing Rainbow Dash to fluster and turn red.

Suddenly, the Pegasus calmed down as she looked at her friends. “Wait, so you guys are okay with this?”

The teasing stopped, and a silence passed over the group. Trixie walked over Rainbow Dash for comfort, though she made sure to make it seem as though she was just choosing a spot to stand and picked that one completely at random.

“Well, Rainbow Dash, I did some thinking before coming over here,” Rarity said, looking her friend in the eyes.

“Yeah, me too,” Applejack added. “An’, well, we may not exactly have the best history with Trixie… but the Apples are known for their friendly hospitality towards others! An’ hay, if we can form peace with the buffalo or with Discord, ah reckon ah can give somepony like Trixie a fair shot.”

Rarity nodded in agreement. “Quite so. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time spent with all of you, some more than others…” Rarity glanced over at Applejack for a second, before turning to Trixie, “… It’s that we should try to accept one-another, even if we have our… differences. And I am willing to ‘bury the hatchet’, as it were, if you would offer the same courtesy.”

All eyes were on Trixie as she stared at the other Unicorn for a few seconds, before raising a hoof and examining it, seemingly uninterested. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will agree to this compromise.”

“Still though, Dash an’ Trixie…” Applejack shook her head and gave an amused sigh as she regarded the two. “Somethin’ tells me things ‘roudn here are gonna get a might more loud from now on.”

“How in the world did the two of you even… you know…”

“Get together?” Rainbow Dash asked, receiving a nod from Rarity. “Well, it’s kinda a long story… Y’see, it started when…”

Trixie felt something tugging on her cape, and turned around to see Twilight Sparkle motioning her to move towards her. Deciding to let Rainbow Dash take care of the storytelling, Trixie silently moved away to see what the librarian Princess wanted. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle?”

“First of all Trixie, congratulations to both you and Rainbow Dash. As her close friend, my books tell me it is my obligation to tell you that you had better make her happy, and that I will…” Twilight stopped for a moment to think. “… Oh! That I’ll hurt you if you make her cry!”

Trixie turned back over to Rainbow Dash, who was now explaining how she drove away the jerk that they had run into at the ice-cream parlour. She then turned back to Twilight. “Seriously? You think that one would cry over something that Trixie does?”

Twilight blushed and gave a small chuckle, before clearing her throat and resuming her stern conversation. “Also, you might not notice that Spike’s not here.” Seeing Trixie’s look of confusion, Twilight decided to explain. “Small, purple dragon?”

“Oh,” Trixie said. “… Isn’t ‘Spike’ a dog’s name?”

“… Anyway, the reason for that is that he still… hasn’t quite got over what you did to him the last time you were here. Or what you did to me.”

Trixie sighed and shook her head. “Yes, well, Trixie is still surprised that you seem to be okay with it.”

“I’m sure he’ll warm up to you, in time. But for now, could you please be careful with how you act around him? He has a tendency to get worked up easily, especially when he’s already in a bit of a bad mood.”

“So… what exactly do you want Trixie to do?” Trixie asked.

“Just… tone down the whole ‘Great and Powerful’ thing, just for a little while, whilst he’s around.”

“You ask Trixie to-”

“Please?” Twilight interrupted, sensing protest coming from the showmare. “It’d really mean a lot to me, as a friend.”

Trixie furrowed her brow, but gave the thought some consideration. ‘Friendship with a Princess… Trixie could milk that quite well. If Trixie does this favour for her, then…’ Trixie smiled and raised a hoof to pat Twilight on the back. “Very well then, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie shall try, but it will be difficult, so she cannot promise you anything.”

Twilight smiled back. “Thanks, Trixie. And if there’s anything I can do to-”

“Well, if you insist,” Trixie said, making Twilight frown when she realised that that was Trixie’s aim all along. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will be performing a show this coming weekend. Your presence in the crowd would be very much appreciated.”

Twilight’s frown faded. “Oh, you just want me to attend your show? Well, of course. I’ll be happy to.”

Trixie tilted her head for a moment in confusion. ‘She’d be happy to? What-’ Shaking her head to clear the thought, Trixie simply nodded and began to walk back to the other mares.

“Wow, Trixie!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she hopped in front of the approaching mare. “You like, owe your life to Dash, don’t ya?!”

“W-What?”

“The way you were falling from that building, and then Dash swooped in like Supermare and caught you mere seconds before you hit the ground! And then you used your magic to teleport back to your hotel room where Dash treated your injuries, and then…”

Trixie turned to Rainbow Dash, who was slowly side-stepping away. “Dashie… what exactly did you tell them?”

“Just, uh… y’know, putting a little ‘oomph’ into the story, like you said,” Rainbow Dash explained. “Hey, at least I didn’t say I defeated a giant bear!”

“True, but you seem to have omitted the detail where the Great and Powerful Trixie made you scream so much the neighbours had to file a noise complaint,” Trixie said with a sly grin, resulting in an immediate explosion of red on Rainbow’s face, and a small puddle of blood forming by Rarity’s hooves as she reached for tissues to wipe her nose.

“Oh… my…” Rarity said as she looked over at Rainbow Dash, and excited look on her face, though it disappeared when Rainbow shook her head, refusing to tell said story.

“Well then, everypony,” Pinkie Pie began, grabbing a nearby jukebox and smacking it. “Let’s get this party STARTED!” Music began to fill the room.

“Hold on everypony!” Applejack shouted, causing the music to screech to a halt. “Rarity and ah have some news of our own that we wanted ta share!”

“Quite right,” Rarity said as she walked up to Applejack’s side, allowing the farmer to wrap a foreleg around her neck. “You see, during our date last night, I asked Applejack if she would consider moving in with me. And of course, she said yes!”

The announcement was met with a round of applause by everypony else in the room. “Congratulations,” Fluttershy said softly.

“Way ta go you two!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “Took ya long enough…”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie offers the two of you her blessing.”

“Thanks y’all. It’s been a bumpy ride, trust me.” Applejack received a nudge from Rarity. “Okay Pinkie, y’all can get back ta settin’ this party in motion now.”

“You heard her!” Pinkie said to her jukebox, which soon began resuming the music that it had started to play before.

The party lasted a good few hours, with everypony taking turns to introduce themselves to Trixie and get a chance to properly know her, before the fun and games got started. As soon as it was all over, everypony went their separate ways as they began to head home, with the exception of Rainbow Dash and Trixie.

Rainbow wanted to fly beside Trixie until they reached her trailer, since her cloud home could easily be reached from anywhere anyway. “Man, that party was great! Don’t ya think?”

“It was quite fun, Trixie will admit. It’s a nice breath of fresh air from the parties they hold up in Canterlot. So much as one firework, and suddenly you’re a nuisance.”

“Yeah, those type of parties really don’t sound like fun at all. And I’m glad everypony’s cool with us. It’s…” Rainbow Dash stopped as Trixie’s trailer came into view… along with the red paint on the front, which spelled ‘LOSER’ across the door.

Trixie continued forward, walking around her trailer to see what other damage had been done. ‘FRAUD’, ‘LIAR’, and a crudely drawn ursa minor bear had been painted on the other sides, along with the words ‘GET OUT’, which perhaps stung Trixie the most.

“Who could have done this?” Rainbow Dash asked herself as she flew around the trailer to survey the damage. Her rage began to build, and she had to hold herself back from kicking something in anger. “Who the hay did this?! There’s no excuse for messing with somepony’s home like this!”

“It’s okay, Dash,” Trixie said, quite calmly considering the situation.

“But-”

“I said it’s okay!” Trixie shouted, startling Rainbow Dash. Trixie took a moment to regain her composure. “… Look, this was to be expected, right? Trixie has only revived her reputation in Baltimare so far, but fear not! As soon as Trixie’s reputation is revived through the rest of Equestria, cases such as this will become a thing of the past!”

“But it’s still your home, Trixie,” Rainbow Dash said, landing in front of Trixie and placing a hoof on the side of her marefriend’s face. “There’s nothing okay about this! If somepony did this to my home, I’d-”

Rainbow Dash was stopped by Trixie moving forward and suddenly kissing her on the lips. The kiss lasted for a few seconds, not getting any deeper than a simple, closed-mouth peck on the lips, before Trixie pulled back and gave Rainbow Dash a stern look. “Trixie will be fine, Dashie. Do not trouble yourself over this. Today went better than expected, so why ruin it now?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I… Fine, if you’re alright with it, then I’ll let it slide…” Rainbow Dash began to flap her wings, gaining lift from the ground and ascending into the air in front of Trixie. “Well, I guess this is good night then…”

“Yeah…” The two averted their eyes from each, looking away and remaining silent and motionless.

“Y’know, a goodbye kiss should be a bit more awesome than that.”

“You think so?” Trixie asked as she saw Rainbow Dash land. “Then, how about this?” Trixie moved in again to kiss the Pegasus again, this time the kiss being returned by the other party. After a few seconds, they pulled away again. “How’s that?”

“… Still not quite there.”

Trixie put a hoof to her chin, as if in though. “This could take a while. I don’t suppose you would want to come inside Trixie’s trailer for a bit?”

“Sounds good to me,” Rainbow Dash said, following as Trixie lead the way into her trailer, and closing the door behind her. Learning from past experience, Trixie used her magic to erect a soundproof barrier around the trailer. The door remained shut that entire night, neither mare emerging until the following morning.

Author's Note

To save any confusion on the chapter titles, chapters will be posted in 'arcs'. So the first 'arc' was the 'Chance Encounter' arc, which lasted for three parts. Some chapters will be single parts (such as chapter 4), and this chapter is the start of the next multiple part arc, the 'Welcome To Ponyville' arc.

6 - Seeing The Sights (Part II)

Roadrunner raced across the desert at super-high speeds, not a care in the world as he left a trail of dust behind him during his journey. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of scheming eyes were watching from afar, through a pair of binoculars, atop a large mountain.

Wile E. Coyote tapped a finger to his chin as he watched his prey move, and then shifted his gaze towards the boulder in the distance. An idea hit the dastardly coyote, and he rubbed his hands together as a light bulb appeared above his head.

After climbing down from his viewing spot and obtaining some cans of paint, Wile E. Coyote made quick work of painting a tunnel upon the face of the boulder, stopping for a moment to admire his work before stepping off the side to hide behind some cacti, unfortunately pricking himself in the process.

“Beep beep!” That sound told Wile E. that Roadrunner was closing in, and he licked his lips as he watched from his hiding spot as Roadrunner… ran through the painted tunnel on the face of the boulder.

Shocked and confused, Wile E. quickly gave chase, desperate to ensure that his dinner would not get away. He examined the painted tunnel for a moment, and then charged full speed towards it, stopping instantaneously as he collided with the boulder and falling back slowly, his teeth cracked and stars flying around his head.

Pinkie Pie fell onto her back and held her stomach as she laughed out loud, snorting a few times and kicking her legs too. On her left side, Pumpkin cake was also laughing, thought not quite as spiritedly as the pink mare beside her was, on the Pinkie Pie’s right, Pound Cake also cheered for a moment, before his attention shifted towards the lettered blocks in front of him, which he began to stack up one-by-one.

“Pinkie Pie, we’ll be opening up shop soon!” Mrs. Cake called as she poked her head out of the kitchen. “Could you set up the display window for me please?”

Pinkie Pie immediately straightened out and rose to her hooves. “Okey-dokey-lokey!” With a spring in her step, Pinkie Pie cantered across the room towards the kitchen, leaving the twins to their cartoon.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, Pinkie Pie was given a stack of boxes containing the cakes that would be put on display that day, which included standard samples of treats such as regular everyday cupcakes of varying flavours, but there were also a few ‘special’ treats that had a limited stock. Once they were all on her back, Pinkie Pie left the kitchen and made her way to the window at the store’s front.

The store opened up the second Pinkie Pie was finished with her task, and only thirty minutes passed before its first customers of the day had arrived. This of course earned the couple that had entered the store a special shower of confetti and some on-the-house cupcakes from the energetic mare working the counter.

“Congratulations! You two are the first-” Pinkie Pie stopped as she got a better look at her first two customers, and her grin grew even wider. “Oh, hey Rainbow Dash, Trixie Lulamoon!”

“Just Trixie,” Trixie said as she stepped inside and looked around the shop, nodding her head as she regarded the decoration and the all of the tasty-looking treats lying around. “Or ‘the Great and Powerful Trixie’.”

“You don’t like your last name?” Pinkie asked with a tilt of her head.

“It’s just a mouthful in conversation,” Trixie explained.

“Oh, okay then! Anyway, welcome to Sugarcube Corner! Home of the finest baked treats in all of Ponyville!”

Rainbow Dash stepped to the side of Trixie and gave her a confused look. “Wait, hold on. ‘Trixie Lulamoon’ is too long, but ‘the Great and Powerful Trixie’ is just fine?”

“That is what Trixie just said,” Trixie confirmed.

“Yeah. What’s the confusion, Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie asked, causing the Pegasus to freeze up and regard the two with a look of complete bewilderment.

“Just kidding,” Trixie said with a grin, causing Rainbow to sigh, but also to regard her with an annoyed look.

“Well I wasn’t,” Pinkie said with a frown. “What’s the dealio?”

“Hey, Pinkie,” Rainbow spoke up, “Mind getting us some of those special friend cupcakes?”

Trixie gave Rainbow Dash an odd look at the way she put emphasis on those last two words, whilst Pinkie Pie simply nodded with a smile and ran off towards the kitchen. “What are ‘friend cupcakes’?”

“You’ll see. So, what d’ya think? Pretty nice place, huh?” The two had woken up early that morning so that Rainbow Dash could give Trixie a tour of where she lived, and she had decided that the first place they should stop was Sugarcube Corner. “Make sure you eat a lot, ‘cause we’re not stopping for lunch!”

“Trixie will keep that in mind. And as for this place, Trixie must agree. It is pretty… sweet.” Rainbow Dash groaned and slammed a hoof into her face, whilst Trixie simply pointed her nose into the air and smiled proudly at her witty remark.

“Don’t quit your day job, Trix.” Trixie harrumphed and took a seat at a nearby table, followed by Rainbow Dash who took a seat opposite her. “Y’know, this’s actually my second favourite place in all of Ponyville to hang out.”

“Really? What’s your first favourite?”

“On a cloud, of course.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Of course. Ponyville is actually a lot bigger than Trixie remembers. Are you sure we can tour the whole thing in just one day?”

Rainbow Dash answered with a grin and a flap of her wings. “Hey, fastest flyer in all of Equestria here! Trust me, one day is more than enough time to give you the grand tour.”

“And where are we going to after this?”

“After this, the next stop is Fluttershy’s place. I need to pick up Tank, after all.”

“Tank?” Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, Tank. He’s my pet tortoise. Fastest tortoise in the world!”

“What, does he have a rocket-powered engine in his shell?” Trixie asked in a teasing tone. “Trixie finds it hard to believe that somepony who prides herself in her speed would go for a pet as slow as that. Not to mention it can’t fly.”

Rainbow Dash simply grinned as Pinkie Pie approached their table, carrying on her back a small cardboard box. “You’ll see. Anyway, looks like your cupcakes are ready.”

“Here ya go!” Pinkie crouched down and bounced back up, springing the box up into the air and causing it to land on the table in-between the two mares. “Hope you like ‘em! My friends “helped” me make them!”

Trixie gave the pink mare a questioning gaze, before turning her attention back to the box. “Well, compared to the… nothing that Trixie has been living off of for the past year, they are sure to be-” Trixie stopped as she opened the box and stared wide-eyed at the contents inside.

There were four cupcakes inside the box. One yellow, one purple, one white, and one orange, and each one had a different pattern on them. A pattern each resembling a certain Cutie Mark that Trixie knew belonged to mares of corresponding colours. What’s more, feathers seemed to be scatted around the purple and yellow cupcakes, small white fragments that looked like bones to the showmare were sticking out of the cupcakes, and there were red splatters painted around the inside of the box.

“W-W-W-What the?!” Trixie looked back up at Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be holding in some intense laughter. It finally broke out, along with Rainbow’s beside her. As the two mares continued to laugh together, using each other for support so that they didn’t fall onto the ground, Trixie examined the cupcakes much more closely.

‘Frosting,’ Trixie thought to herself as she touched the red inside the box. ‘And these feathers and bones are just icing. The Cutie Marks patterns are just sugar paper.’

“Man, that was great!” Rainbow Dash said as she wiped a tear from her eye, finally able to breathe again and bump a hoof with Pinkie Pie’s. “You should’ve seen your face! It was priceless!”

Trixie simply narrowed her eyes as she stared at the two, calm now that she had realised it was just a trick. “Yeah, hilarious,” she responded in a sarcastic tone. “Trixie admits, it all looks real. Especially this eyeball here.”

Pinkie Pie seemed confused at that. “Eyeball? What eyeball?”

Trixie turned the box around, and both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash looked inside to find a small eyeball resting atop one of the cupcakes, its nerves still connected to the back of it and trailing off down the side of the cupcake. Before either of them could question what it was, the eyeball rolled over to meet their own eyes and blinked a few times.

Both mares yelped and jumped back, only realising moments later, when Trixie’s laughter filled the room, that it was fake. “Now those faces are priceless,” Trixie said as she reached into the box and took out the fake eyeball, stuffing it back into her cape before going back in for one of the cupcakes.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what to say. She hadn’t expected Trixie to retaliate with a prank of her own, let alone one that actually worked. Pinkie Pie, however, knew exactly how to respond: smile and laugh.

“Wow, that was neat! Where’d you get it?”

“Trixie picked it up one Nightmare Night, long ago. It seems development was banned because it was scaring children too much.”

“Something was banned for scaring children… on Nightmare Night?” Rainbow asked. “Isn’t that the whole point?”

Trixie simply shrugged. “That’s how it works up in Canterlot. Ponies find the stupidest things to complain about. Why, there was even one Hearth’s Warming where parents tried to ban sweets because one child had too much sugar.”

“THAT’S CRAZY!” Pinkie Pie shouted, at a volume so high, so intense, that the wind it produced blew the cupcake out of Trixie’s hoof and past her head. “Ban sweets?! Too much sugar?! I just- I don’t- How-”

“Easy there!” Rainbow said, grabbing a nearby brown paper bag and offering it to her pink friend. “Breathe, Pinkie!”

Pinkie Pie grabbed the bag and started hyperventilating into it. Trixie watched uncomfortably for a few seconds. “Uh, i-if it helps, it ended in complete failure. The vast majority of the city agreed that banning sweets was just ridiculous.”

“Which side were you on?!” Pinkie Pie shouted, her head buried within the paper bag. She closed in on Trixie and pointed a hoof at her, and although Trixie could not see her, she was sure that Pinkie Pie was giving her a harsh glare. “Pro-sweet or anti-sweet?!”

Trixie was confused, and it took a few seconds for the question to properly sink in. Although she still wasn’t sure what was going on, she still had enough information to supply an answer to the crazy mare’s question. “P-Pro?”

A moment of silence passed, and was followed by Pinkie Pie removing the bag from her head, to show her smiling face once more. “Okey-dokey-lokey!” she said in a cheerful voice, before turning around and skipping towards the counter. “I have to get back to work, but it was great seeing you guys! We should hang out later!”

“Uh, sure…” Trixie watched as Pinkie Pie made her way back towards her counter, where there was a stallion waiting to be served. Trixie leaned over her table to whisper to Rainbow Dash. “Hey, Dashie.”

“Yeah?”

“That pony… Trixie doesn’t have to hang out with her, right?”

Rainbow Dash snickered at the question, but not because of the question itself. “Yeah, I get where you’re comin’ from. But trust me, you give her a chance, and she’ll be one of the coolest ponies you know. Second only to me, of course.”

“… If you say so,” Trixie said as she leaned back in her seat, not at all convinced by Rainbow’s claim. She lifted up her second cupcake from the box and took a bite, which caused her eyes to widen and her lips to curl up into a smile. “Oh my word… this tastes great!”

After finishing up their cupcakes and saying their goodbyes to Pinkie Pie, Trixie and Rainbow Dash left the bakery to head towards their next destination: Fluttershy’s cottage.

“So in which direction does your friend Butterfly live?” Trixie asked as she glanced around the town, acting as casual as possible as she scanned for any ponies giving her strange looks.

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash corrected.

“Yes, her. Trixie imagines, based on her personality, it would be in a quiet part of the town.”

“Welllll… not exactly,” Rainbow said, drawing a puzzled look from Trixie. “Here, lemme show ya.” Flapping her wings to gain lift, Rainbow Dash reached down and wrapped her forelegs around Trixie, lifting the mare up into the air before she could form any words of protest against the action.

“H-Hey!” Trixie shouted as she watched the ground beneath her getting further and further away.

“There!” Rainbow said, motioning with her head the direction that she wanted Trixie to look. “Y’see that small house on the hilltop in the distance?”

“The one with all of the birds flying around it and… is that a bear? And a floating ball of pink clouds?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s Discord’s guest room,” Rainbow Dash said with an exasperated sigh. “Anyway, that’s Fluttershy’s place.”

“Hold on. By Discord, you mean-”

“And all the animals around it are there because Fluttershy takes care of them.”

“Is she a vet, or just-”

“Anyway, you’re right about it being in a place that’s quiet, but as you can see it’s not exactly in the town.”

“Do not ignore Trixie!” Trixie shouted, her body flashing purple for a second, before disappearing and reappearing upon a nearby cloud. “The Great and Powerful Trixie demands to know: why does she live so far outside of town?”

“Well, I guess she just likes the peace and quiet,” Rainbow said with a shrug, landing gently upon the same cloud. “Besides, you really think she’d be allowed to have all those animals around inside the town?”

“… Trixie sees your point,” Trixie said, flicking her mane aside as she stared at the house in the distance. Suddenly, an idea passed through Trixie’s head, and she turned to grin at the Pegasus sitting beside her. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has just thought of something fun we could do.”

“Great!” Rainbow said, jumping up and flapping her wings. “Fun things are my favourite things!”

“Well, Trixie was thinking…” Trixie channelled her magic through her horn, and a faint purple light enveloped the cloud beneath her, “… Maybe the two of us could racetothecottagelastonethere’saparaspriteGO!”

Before Rainbow Dash could completely decode what Trixie had just said, the light around the cloud brightened suddenly, and the cloud zipped past the Pegasus, Trixie still sitting upon it and looking back at Rainbow Dash with her tongue sticking out.

When Rainbow took the time to unravel what Trixie had said, her eyes narrowed, and a grin formed on her face. “Oh, you want a race? You got a race!” A rainbow trail was left behind as Rainbow Dash lived up to her namesake, speeding through the air at such a high speed that she caught up to Trixie in no time at all. “Hey there, slowpoke! What’s up, cloud a little heavy?”

“Perhaps so. Trixie will have to remedy that.” The purple glow around the cloud brightened again, and a moment later a torrent of water shot out of the cloud, aimed at Rainbow Dash and hitting her squarely.

“Whoa! Hey, that’s cheating!”

“All’s fair in love and war!” Trixie retorted as she increased the level of magic she was using, causing the cloud to travel faster.

“Oh, well in that case…” Rainbow Dash altered her flight path to grab a hold of a nearby cloud, and then moved back to pursuing Trixie. Once again, water was fired her way as she closed in on the Unicorn, but this time Rainbow Dash was prepared. The water was absorbed into her cloud, and once the torrent was over, she dashed through the enlarged cloud and made a break for Trixie’s.

Trixie was startled by what she saw, and attempted to fire another torrent of water at her, but did not have the time as Rainbow Dash collided with the cloud, causing it to dissipate instantly. Before Trixie could even begin to fall, she was caught by a pair of blue outstretched forelegs.

“That’s playing dirty,” Trixie said with a pout, moving a hoof to her head to prevent her hat from blowing off into the wind.

“All’s fair in love and war,” Rainbow replied with a wink.

Trixie blushed and turned her head to the side with a huff. “… You’re just lucky you’re cute.”

Rainbow cocked her head to the side. “You mean ‘cool’, right?”

“Trixie knows what she said. By the way, if we keep going like this it’ll be a tie.”

“We’ll see.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by-”

“Ah, we’re almost there! Brace yourself.” Rainbow Dash leaned in order to descend very quickly towards the ground. Though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, Trixie grew panicked as she saw the ground closing in on her and held a firm grip around Rainbow’s neck. For a moment, Rainbow Dash almost reconsidered her next course of action, instead opting to raise her forelegs to move Trixie closer and let their faces touch as they landed.

Then she saw Fluttershy, who had turned her head up from her flower patch and was now looking directly at them. Now it became a matter of saving face in front of her friend, and ‘plan A’ took priority. Slowing down a bit, Rainbow turned around and released Trixie, using her forelegs to pry Trixie’s open and make her fall onto the ground. Her next move was turning back and dashing towards the finish line, touching down onto the ground mere inches from Fluttershy.

“Hah! I win!” Rainbow declared, turning back and shooting a victorious grin Trixie’s way. “Better luck next time, Trix!”

Trixie picked herself up off of the ground and dusted herself off, using her magic to readjust her hat and straighten out her cape. “How dare you?! Throwing Trixie into the dirt is like cursing towards one of the Royal Sisters!” Trixie walked slowly over to where the two Pegasi were standing. “Not to mention you bruised the Great and Powerful Trixie’s rump. How is she supposed to perform a show if she cannot even move?”

“Ah, quit your whining. I’ll kiss your booboo for ya later,” Rainbow said, freezing in place as she remember that Fluttershy was standing right behind her. “Er, what I mean is, I, I, I…”

“Oh, good morning Rainbow Dash, Trixie,” Fluttershy said, sending a warm smile towards the approaching Unicorn. “Are you okay? I’m sorry. Rainbow can be a little competitive, but she usually makes up for it later…”

“Oh? How so?” Trixie asked.

“Well, there was the time she modelled saddles for Rarity after she broke her roof.” Rainbow’s eyes widened and she quickly waved her hooves in the air, signalling for Fluttershy to say no more. Unfortunately, Fluttershy did not seem to notice. “And then the time she helped me to read a bedtime story for Ms. Mouse and her children. Oh, it was so sweet, and Ms. Mouse was practically begging for her to read to her again.”

“Interesting,” Trixie said as she finally approached the two. She rose up onto her hind legs and draped her forelegs over Rainbow’s body, leaning on her to relieve some of the pain from her behind. “Well, Trixie can certainly think of a few ways for Dashie to ‘make up’ for this.”

“Trust me, she’s a very hard worker,” Fluttershy said with a smile.

“I know,” Trixie replied. “Oh trust me, I know.”

Fluttershy looked confused for a second, before she noticed the blush on Rainbow’s face and the sly grin on Trixie’s, and put two and two together. “O-Oh. Yes, well, s-she’s also good in that regard, I suppose…”

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash shouted, startling her friend.

“S-Sorry, I only meant it in a positive way…”

“Wait, how do you- Oooooh.” Trixie narrowed her eyes, causing Fluttershy to hide her face behind her mane. “One of Dashie’s exes?”

“N-Not exact-”

“We just experimented in Flight School, that’s all. Now can we drop this?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking over her shoulder at Trixie. “Anyway, I’m here to pick up Tank.”

Fluttershy jumped at the mention of Rainbow’s pet’s name, and slowly nodded her head. “Y-Yes. He’s taking his morning bath right now.”

“Morning bath?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yes. He likes to bathe before he gets his shell polished.”

“Shell polished?! Fluttershy, Tank doesn’t like doing girly stuff like that! He’s too cool, and awesome, and radical!”

“Aren’t those just synonyms?” Trixie asked.

“Gesundheit,” Rainbow replied, drawing a puzzled look from Trixie.

“Um, actually, Rainbow Dash, Tank was having morning baths and shellicures before you adopted him as your pet. In fact, he wakes up before you so that he can use your bathtub every morning.”

“So that’s why my water bill is so high!” Rainbow Dash took a moment to consider something. “Guess I owe the mayor an apology.”

“Um, I think Tank should be finished soon. I can take you to him, i-if you like.”

“Yeah, okay.” The three mares simply stood there for a few moments, none of them moving from their current location. “Well?”

“Oh. Um, first, I have to say something… I mean, I know it’s probably not my place, and you probably know this already, and please don’t take offence, it’s just I really care for all the animals here and I have to make sure that-”

“Can we speed this up please?” Trixie asked with a sniffle. “Trixie thinks she may be allergic to some of the flowers here.”

“Oh, okay. I just have to make sure… Please take care not to let Tank see you two during your… night-time… activities…”

Rainbow Dash groaned and slammed a hoof into her face. “Really? C’mon, Fluttershy! You know I wouldn’t let the guy see something like that!”

“What does it matter? He’s just a tortoise, right?”

“Tort- Oh.” Fluttershy blushed and kicked the ground with a hoof. “Y-Yeah, but he’s still a young and impressionable tortoise.”

“And he’s not just a tortoise!” Rainbow said in a stern tone. “He’s the most amazing, fastest, and super-cool tortoise that’s ever lived!”

“Right, well, just as long as you understand.” Fluttershy turned towards her cottage. “This way.”

As the three mares walked down the dirt path towards Fluttershy’s cottage, Trixie decided to break the silence with some small talk. Although she didn’t still held grievances towards the ponies that had heckled her in the past, she could not recall Fluttershy being one of them. In addition, there was something about this mare that made it difficult for Trixie to dislike her.

“So, you two went to the same Flight School… How was that?”

“Oh, well, we didn’t really talk much until the last two years,” Fluttershy said. “But, Rainbow did save me from being bullied… a few times…”

“Yeah, well, I hate seeing ponies ganging up on other ponies,” Rainbow Dash said, receiving a nuzzle from Trixie.

“Yes, you made that very clear to Trixie. A real knight in shining armour.”

Rainbow Dash blushed, but didn’t back away. Instead she extended her wing and wrapped it around Trixie as they walked. Fluttershy pretended not to notice, but she still couldn’t help smiling at the site.

“So, do you have a special somepony?” Trixie asked, receiving a headshake in response. “Really? Why not? Ponies in this town not much to look at? Of course, with Trixie here, they’re going to have to work hard to keep up their looks.”

“I-I’m just not really looking for a relationship right now. What you two have is nice, but I think… I’m happy as I am, for now.”

“… Well, when the time comes, do not hesitate to ask the Great and Powerful Trixie. She will cast a spell that will make you perfectly irresistible to mares and stallions alike!” Looking at Fluttershy, Trixie could see that she appeared very panicked. “Not a literal spell. Figuratively speaking.”

“Oh. Um, yes, I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

Rainbow leaned closer to Trixie. “That was pretty cool of you,” she whispered.

“Trixie can hardly help it. This pony emits such an aura of purity it feels like it would be a grave sin not to befriend her.”

“Yeah, that Flutters alright. Even when I was trying to keep up my ‘rebel punk’ appearance back in Flight School, I still ended up at her house drinking tea with her stuffed dolls somehow.” Trixie was caught off guard by a sudden kiss planted on her cheek. “Anyway, thanks for trying to get along.”

Trixie blinked a few times. “Well then, if Trixie becomes BFFs with her, is the reward going to be even greater?”

“We’ll see,” Rainbow replied with a wink. She stopped as something in the distance caught her eye. It was a tub of water sitting outside of Fluttershy’s cottage, and sitting inside it, resting his back against the side, was Tank the tortoise. “Hey! Tank!”

Rainbow Dash unwrapped her wing from around Trixie and shot forward towards the cottage. This left Trixie and Fluttershy alone, with an uncomfortable silence between the two of them.

“So,” Trixie began, in an attempt to break the silence, “… Trixie will be holding a magic show this weekend. She would appreciate it if you came to watch her.”

“Oh, I would love to,” Fluttershy said. “I think my animal friends would like to come, too. Would that be okay?”

“… So long as they are respectful and do not throw things at Trixie, it is fine.”

“Hey Tank! How’ve ya been?” Rainbow Dash asked as she pulled Tank up out of the tub of water. “I know, I’ve missed you too! But sorry, flying’ll have to wait a bit! There’s somepony you gotta meet!”

Fluttershy and Trixie stopped as they reached the tub, and the latter was greeted by a tortoise being shove into her face by the blue Pegasus holding him. “Trixie, meet Tank! Tank, this is Trix! She’s gonna be spending some time with me, but that doesn’t mean she’s replacing you!”

“… This is… a side of Dash Trixie could not have ever contemplated existing,” Trixie said, earning a giggle from Fluttershy.

“I know. I was surprised too, when she chose Tank as her pet.” The two watched as Rainbow Dash rubbed her nose against Tank’s for a brief second, before lowering him back into his bathtub. “By the way, I don’t suppose you have any pets, do you?”

“Unfortunately, Trixie has only ever had two pets in her life. The first was a hamster, which sadly don’t last as long as Trixie thought.”

Fluttershy nodded, her face falling into a frown. “I remember when my first hamster… stopped moving…”

“The second pet Trixie owned was a chameleon.”

“Oh? What happened to it?”

“… Do you remember the ursa minor?” Fluttershy nodded her head, and Trixie simply stared at the Pegasus until she figured the rest out for herself.

“… O-Oh. Y-You mean, when it crushed your cart-”

“Trixie was panicked, and Leon… completely slipped Trixie’s mind. Since then, Trixie has not had the finances to own a pet. Even if she could find one for free, she would not be able to care for it.”

“I see… Well, there are a lot of animals here that I’m sure would just love to be your pet.”

Trixie shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but Trixie would like to get her career back in order she considers a new pet.”

Fluttershy nodded. “I understand. But, out of curiosity, what kind of pet would you be most interested in?”

Trixie thought about it for a few moments. “… A velociraptor?” The answer drew a whimper and a panicked look from Fluttershy. “Just kidding. Trixie actually isn’t so sure, to be honest.”

“Well, if you ever feel the need for an animal companion in your life, my door is always open for you.” Trixie simply nodded, not sure how else to respond to such an offer. “Also if you simply want somepony to talk to.” This made Trixie even more uncertain, but thankfully Rainbow Dash was ready to break up the conversation between the two.

“Hey, Fluttershy, Tank says he’s still not done here just yet. You don’t mind keepin’ him just a little bit longer, do you?”

“I don’t mind at all. Tank’s become really popular among the other pets ever since you taught him your ‘101 ways to be cool like Rainbow Dash’.”

“Cool!” Rainbow turned back to Tank for a moment. “Alright then, lil’ guy! You just… do this, I guess, and I’ll be back later to pick you up!”

“A mongoose might make a good pet,” Trixie mused to herself out loud. “Hm? What? We’re moving on?”

“Yep! Next stop, Sweet Apple Acres!” Rainbow Dash swooped in to lift Trixie off of her hooves, but was instead pushed back by Trixie’s magic before she could move close enough. “H-Hey!”

“Trixie has seen through you now, Dashie! Whilst Trixie appreciates the gesture, you could at least lift her up with a little more grace, don’t you think?”

“Fine, whatever. Guess we’ll just walk there,” Rainbow said, landing on the ground and walking away from the area.

Trixie’s eyes widened as she watched the Pegasus walk away. “H-Hey! Hmph! Fine then, Trixie does not care either way!”

Fluttershy watched as Trixie ran to catch up to Rainbow Dash, and then the two walked side-by-side together, facing opposite directions so as to avert their eyes from each other. “… I’m sure they’ll be just fine…”

Rarity was a lady. A lady of grace, and dignity, and beauty. Of lady of refined, civilised tastes. When her hoof polish cracked, she stopped what she was doing immediately to fix it. She took a bath every night before bed, and every morning after waking up, and allowed only the finest quality beauty products to touch her fabulous hair and her soft fur.

However, Applejack knew all of Rarity’s weak points. She knew what Rarity loved and hated, and she knew exactly what to say in order to convince Rarity to help out. She knew exactly what to offer in order to persuade the mare to get her hooves just a little dirty with some packing and moving.

What she didn’t account for was Rarity’s muscles, or lack thereof. Even if she had convinced her to help out, nothing could be done about the fact that the dressmaker had probably never done any real heavy lifting in her life. Why would she? Ever since the two were fillies, Rarity had the power to bend any colt to her will, and she did not fear abusing it.

Even now, whenever Applejack took her eyes off of her for even a second, Rarity took the chance to try to unload some of her burden onto the ever-reliable Big Macintosh. It was getting to the point that Applejack was ready to have Apple Bloom bring the school teacher – and more importantly Big Macintosh’s marefriend – Cheerilee to keep Rarity’s attacks from having any effect, until she noticed something speeding towards them from the sky. Something… rainbow.

With a sigh, Applejack threw down the boxes that she was carrying and stepped swiftly to the side, narrowly avoiding the incoming rainbow which then crashed into the tree behind her. “Nice of ya ta drop in, Dash.”

Rainbow Dash groaned as she pulled herself out of the tree. “Darn it. I must be out of shape or something.”

“So what brings y’all here? Can’t imagine ye’re offerin’ ta help out with the heavy lifting?”

“Uh, the what?” Rainbow looked at the boxes to Applejack’s side. “Oh, right! You’re moving to Rarity’s, aren’t ya?”

“Eeyup.” Applejack remembered who Rainbow Dash had brought home with her the previous day and looked around for her. “Trixie not with you? Ah’d have thought you’d be showin’ her ‘round or somethin’.”

“I am. She’s just…” Rainbow looked around herself. She was sure that Trixie was right behind her, yet there was no sight of the mare anywhere. “Huh. Guess I went a little fast, huh? She must be out in the orchard somewhere.”

“… Y’know our orchard’s a big place, right?” Applejack asked. “Folk that aren’t familiar with it can get lost pretty easily.”

“Aah, she’ll be fine. I left a trail for her to follow, see?” Rainbow pointed up towards the rainbow trail still hanging in the air. “Hey, how ‘bout I help you move some of these boxes while we wait for her?”

“Y’sure ‘bout that?”

“Sure I’m sure. I was hoping you’d give her a tour of the farm, but you can hardly do that if you’re moving boxes.”

Applejack smiled and lifted up half of her boxes onto her back. The other half was lifted up by Rainbow Dash. “Well ah certainly appreciate the thought. This’s the last batch anyhow. Well, save for the smaller boxes. Left them for Rarity, since her back ain’t so tough.”

As the proceeded along the dirt path together, Rainbow decided that then would be the opportune moment to bring up something she had thought about the previous night. “Hey, AJ. You an’ me are friends, right?”

“Last time ah checked.”

“And friends… help each other out, even when the thing one friend needs help with is a little… difficult to talk about.”

Applejack stopped and turned a questioning gaze towards Rainbow Dash, who also stopped and tried to look casual as she faced her friend. “Dash, there somethin’ botherin’ you? Somethin’ y’all need help with?”

“Well, y’see, I was kinda wondering…”

“Yes?”

“Since you’re in a relationship with a Unicorn an’ all…”

“Yes?”

“… Could you… teach me how to do a hornjob?”

The hard wind blew a tumbleweed between the two, and Applejack’s face brightened after allowing the question to sink in for a few seconds. “Uh, ah’m sorry, ah think ah misheard ya…”

“Look, I’m confident enough about my technique in bed. In fact, you ask any of my old Flight School marefriends and they’ll testify! But, I’ve never been with a Unicorn before, and I heard there’re are certain ways to… y’know…”

Applejack was still blushing, but she knew where her friend was coming from. The first few weeks of her relationship with Rarity were a nightmare of figuring out how to ‘treat a lady just right’, and in bed was no exception.

With a friendly smiled, Applejack wrapped a hoof around Rainbow’s neck and motioned towards the field of trees beside them. “Dash, let’s take the scenic route. It’s gonna take a while ta pass on everythin’ ah know.”

The two walked off of the path and into the orchard, taking the long way around as Applejack passed on the fruits of her wisdom to her good friend.

Meanwhile, Trixie was tired and exhausted and had to stop to rest against a tree before she completely collapsed. Trixie removed her hat and used it as a fan to cool herself off. It was then that she heard a snap in the distance, and quickly placed her hat back onto her head and she faced the direction of the noise.

From out of the nearby bushes came three little fillies. One yellow, with a red mane and a pink bow, one orange with a purple mane, and one white with a purple and pink mane. They were all wearing matching red capes, and they were all looking towards Trixie.

“Howdy there!” the yellow one shouted, running towards Trixie. “Y’all here ta see Applejack? Ah’m ‘fraid she’s busy right now, but ah can take a message!”

“What? No, Trixie is-”

“You look familiar,” the white filly said as she and the final filly approached Trixie. “… Hey! You’re that wicked pony that enslaved all of Ponyville!”

The three fillies gasped, and the glared. Trixie sighed and shook her head. ‘Great, just what I need.’ Clearing her throat, Trixie put on her best smile and looked down at the three. “Ah, you must be mistaken. That pony was my evil twin sister, Truxie. I am Trixie, great hero to ponies all over Equestria.”

“You sure?” the orange filly asked. “Sounds sketchy to me.”

“Would a hero tell a lie like that?”

The three fillies exchanged glances before looking back up at Trixie. “Ah guess not,” the yellow filly said with a smile. “Well mighty nice ta meet ya Miss Trixie! Ah’m Apple Bloom, an’ these are mah friends Scootaloo an’ Sweetie Belle. An’ together, we are…”

“THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” the three shouted in unison.

“So, y’all need help with anythin’?” Apple Bloom asked. “Directions? Lost cat? Got somethin’ ya need fixin’?”

“I’m not fixing anything after that table incident,” Scootaloo said with a shudder.

“Actually, Trixie is in no need of assistance,” Trixie said as she looked up towards the sky. The three fillies followed her gaze. “She is on a quest to claim the gold at the end of this rainbow, and was simply taking a rest when you three snuck up on her.”

“We weren’t sneaking,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Nevertheless, you needn’t concern yourselves here. The Great and Powerful Trixie can handle the situation just fine.”

“Trixie?” The four ponies turned to find two mares walking towards them: Applejack and Rainbow Dash. It was Rainbow Dash who spoke. “Hey, you caught up! Well, kinda.”

Trixie glared at the grinning Pegasus. “You have some nerve. Do that again and those wings of yours will find themselves tied up nice and tight.”

“Uh-huh. You wouldn’t have fallen behind if you didn’t make such a big deal about me carrying you.”

“Silence,” Trixie said with a blush. “What’s with those boxes on your back?”

“Oh, these? I’m just doing a quick favour for Applejack.” Behind Rainbow Dash, Applejack waved at Trixie. “After this, AJ’s gonna show you around.”

“A tour of the farm? Trixie will pass. It doesn’t sound too thrilling.”

“Trust me, this is no ordinary farm. This’s the heart of Ponyville’s wealth, and not only that, but it’s the only farm in all of Equestria that bears zap apples.”

“Zap apples, you say… Very well then. Perhaps it will prove entertaining after all.”

“Hey sis?” Apple Bloom asked as she watched Trixie and Rainbow Dash starting to leave. “Who’s that pony? A friend of yours?”

“… Ah guess y’could say that, though ah don’t really know much about her to be honest with ya.”

“She’s gettin’ along pretty well with Rainbow Dash.”

A grin took over Applejack’s face. “Well actually, that’s ‘cause the two of ‘em are all lovey-dovey.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened, and her mouth hung open in shock. “What?”

“Hey Dash!” Applejack shouted as she walked after them. Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder to see what Applejack wanted. “Don’t ya go forgettin’ everythin’ ah taught ya now!”

Rainbow’s face turned entirely red in just a single second. “S-Shut up! Idiot!”

“What she taught you?” Trixie asked.

“Nothing!” Rainbow shouted, picking up her pace. “It was nothing, so drop it!”

Meanwhile, the three Cutie Mark Crusaders were watching the mares leave, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with huge grins on their faces. “Awwww, ain’t that sweet?” Apple Bloom said. “Though ah always thought Rainbow Dash would wind up with Fluttershy.”

“I always thought she’d start dating Twilight.”

“Twilight? Are you serious? The two have nothin’ in common.”

“But it’s the whole opposite attracts thing! You know, like your sister and mine!”

Apple Bloom gasped and her smile grew even bigger. “That’s right! You an’ me’re jus’ one step away from bein’ sisters!”

“Hey, yeah!” Sweetie Belle squeaked back with excitement. “This is so cool! We gotta do something to speed things along!”

“Ah agree! Scootaloo, you in?”

Scootaloo, however, was too busy staring off into the distance, following after the faint signs of the rainbow tail that could still be seen among the trees… before it disappeared completely. ‘Rainbow Dash… has a… marefriend?’

“Scoots? You okay?”

Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed and her teeth grit together as she watched the rainbow tail disappear behind the trees. “WHAT?!” Her two friends backed away from her sudden outburst, but she would not stop there. “No way! I am not cool with this!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched as Scootaloo chased after the three mares. “Wait! Where’re y’all goin’?!” Apple Bloom asked, only to receive no answer to her question. Exchanging a confused look with Sweetie Belle, the two remaining fillies simply shrugged and turned back towards the direction of the farmhouse. “Maybe Granny Smith has somethin’ she needs help with.”

Author's Note

I put way too much research into finding out weather Roadrunner says 'Beep Beep' or 'Meep Meep'. In the end, I found way more sources saying it's 'Beep Beep' that I went with that.

This is very important stuff I have to get right, or the whole story is ruined! Ruined I say! ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

... So, yeah. Enjoy and contemplate what could possibly happen in the next exciting chapter of... this.

7 - Meeting Scootaloo (Part III)

It was a hot day out that day, and with very little cloud cover in the sky. Lyra Heartstrings, who had been out running her daily laps around Ponyville in an attempt to stay in shape, was starting to feel the full effect of the day’s weather as she neared the half-ways point of her final lap. Panting and wheezing, Lyra stopped as she passed by a water fountain in the middle of the park.

As she put her hooves to the tap and brought her lips towards the fountain, something orange shot out suddenly from behind the fountain, startling Lyra. The orange thing turned out to be the head of a small orange filly, who was glaring past Lyra and towards something in the distance.

Scootaloo raised her binoculars and watched as her hero Rainbow Dash passed by, her rainbow hair flowing in the wind, her sleek, athletic figure making Scootaloo’s heart throb and her strong, confident eyes making the filly feel as if she could do anything.

Then she shifted her focus onto the blue Unicorn walking alongside Rainbow Dash, a little too close for Scootaloo’s liking. “Who does she think she is? Rainbow Dash only deserves the coolest, awesomest marefriend, not some smug-looking, tacky-looking, suspicious-looking-”

“Uh, excuse me?” Lyra asked, interrupting Scootaloo’s rant to herself.

“They’re moving on! I’ve gotta go after ‘em!” Scootaloo jumped onto her scooter, which was hidden behind the water fountain, and flapped her wings to push herself forward, leaving a cloud of dust behind herself as she pursued her targets.

Twilight Sparkle was an expert in keeping herself calm and composed, provided that no deadlines were on the line, and could sit or stand perfectly still for an entire week, so long as nopony tried their best to get a reaction out of her.

At least, all of that was true before she grew two very annoying appendages that seemed to have a constant need to twitch and flap, and just generally be moving about at all time. She had read that when young Pegasi first learn to fly, their wings are sensitive for a while and react to even the slightest outside stimuli. Whilst her own wings were not quite as sensitive, it was still a burden to her.

“Twilight, could you- Ow! Could you please- Ooh! Please try to hold still for just a f-few seconds?” Rarity asked as she tried to work her tape measurer around her friend’s flapping wing.

“I’m sorry, Rarity. I don’t know how to stop it, it’s like they have a mind of their own!” Twilight clenched her eyes shut and grunted as she tried to will her wings to remain still for just a moment.

“Oh dear, this is going to be harder than I thought,” Rarity muttered to herself as she narrowly avoided being slapped in the face by Twilight’s wing.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I should come back when I have better control over them?”

Rarity quickly shook her head and resumed trying to do her work despite the flailing wing. “No, no, my dear. You need a new dress for the gala, and you are going to get one! I just need a little assistance, that is all.”

The sound of a bell ringing echoed throughout Rarity’s boutique, alerting her to a new arrival in her store. “Rarity!” the familiar voice of Spike the dragon called out from the front door. “I got those gems you wanted!”

“Oh, Spike! Thank you so much, I-” Rarity stopped as she turned around to see the baby dragon offering a small box to her. The box was empty, save for small speckles of blue, green, and red dust at the bottom. “Spike… where are my gems?”

Spike raised a claw to the side of his face and scratched it as he gave Rarity a sheepish smile. “Uh, I kinda got a little hungry on my way over here…”

Rarity’s eyes widened and her legs shook as she stared into the empty box. “Spike, you-” She stopped as the box was dropped to the floor, and Spike spun around to reveal a second box balanced on his tail, this one filled with sapphires, emeralds, and rubies.

“Just kidding!” Spike said with a laugh as he placed the box onto the floor. “C’mon, you really think I’d eat all your gems just ‘cause I was hungry? Give me a little credit.”

Rarity sighed and shook her head, a smile forming on her face as she reached a hoof out a patted her helper on the head whilst her magic picked up the box of gems and moved them to one side. “Yes, very funny. You know, you came at an opportune moment. Twilight needs some help keeping her wings still. Perhaps a strong, dependable dragon like yourself can be of assistance?”

“Say no more! I’m on the case!” Spike said with a salute before starting to make his way towards Twilight. He was stopped when Rarity grabbed his right arm with her hoof and took a close look at the red stain on the side of it.

“Spike, have you hurt yourself recently?”

“Oh, that? I guess it must’ve happened when I tripped on the way to pick up those gems.” Spike pulled his arm away and hid it behind his back. “It’s fine though! Totally don’t feel a thing!”

“Spike,” Rarity said in a stern tone, “I have a first aid box in the kitchen. Go tend to that wound immediately, before it becomes infected.” Spike opened his mouth to say something but Rarity gave him no chance to speak. “No buts! I will not have my little Spike-wikey put his health at risk for my sake.”

“Well, okay… I’ll be done real quick then!” Spike declared as he turned around and ran off towards the kitchen.

“Take your time!” Rarity called after him. When he was around the corner, Rarity turned to Twilight with a nervous smile. “He certainly seems to be taking the news of Applejack and I living together quite well.”

“I know, I was surprised,” Twilight said. “I guess he’s a lot more mature than I give him credit for.”

“It was dreadful those first three weeks after announcing our relationship to everypony. I just couldn’t sleep at all knowing that poor Spike was in such pain, and I was worried that moving my relationship up to the next level would bring back all of those unhappy feelings within him.”

The sound of the boutique’s bell caught Rarity’s attention again as she turned around to see who was there. A wide smile spread across her face as she saw Applejack unloading some boxes onto the floor. “Hey there,” the farmer greeted. “This’s just ‘bout everythin’. Ah still can’t believe ah’m actually doin’ this. Always thought ah’d call that farm ‘home’ for the rest of mah life.”

“But you’re still working there, aren’t you?” Twilight asked. “And it’s not that far away. You can still visit your family often.”

“Ah know that,” Applejack said. “Jus’… feels kinda weird not livin’ there anymore, y’know?”

“I know what you mean?” Rainbow Dash said as she entered the store behind Applejack, lowering a few more boxes onto the floor. “I felt the same when I moved here from Cloudsdale. Took a while getting used to sleeping in a new bed, but you’ll get there, eventually.”

“Gee, thanks,” Applejack responded in a sarcastic tone.

“Being a traveller, the Great and Powerful Trixie tends not to get homesick,” Trixie announced as she strolled in behind Rainbow Dash, levitating the final few boxes onto the floor.

“Oh, good afternoon Trixie,” Rarity said quickly as she was caught off guard by the showmare’s sudden arrival. “I trust your stay in Ponyville has been treating you well?”

“Actually,” Rainbow Dash began, “We had a minor incident last night.”

“Oh?” Twilight asked, her face taking on a concerned look.

“No, we did not,” Trixie said as she flicked her mane. “It just seems that word of Trixie’s grand comeback has yet to reach this town, though it makes sense given that it only happened two days ago. No matter; the Great and Powerful Trixie will simply have to show the ponies here that Trixie is no washed-up has-been.”

A blue wing wrapped around Trixie’s back, drawing her attention towards Rainbow Dash, the owner of said wing. “Don’t forget I’m here, too!”

“That’s right,” Rarity said. “We’re here too. In fact, if you like, I could prepare a new outfit for your show. Something to give a little more ‘pizzazz’ to your performance.”

Trixie shot the white mare a grin. “You’ll have to open a tab for Trixie.”

“By the way,” Applejack said as she walked up to Trixie, a sly grin on her face. “What y’all said jus’ now, ‘bout never bein’ homesick. Ah’m sure that can’t be true.”

“Oh, but it is,” Trixie assured the farmer. “Canterlot may have been a nice city to live in, but the ponies there were simply obnoxious. If you didn’t hold a good family name, then everypony would just assume you were destined for failure.”

“I’m sure you miss it sometimes,” Rainbow Dash said, stroking the tip of her wing against Trixie’s cheek. Trixie had to force herself not to smile. “All alone in your trailer every night. I bet you think about Canterlot all the time.”

“Do not,” Trixie said as she tried to bat away the irritating wing.

“You sure?” Rainbow asked, leaning in to nuzzle Trixie.

“Positive,” Trixie said as she tried to back away.

“Look at ‘em,” Applejack said with an odd look as she shook her head. “They jus’ can’t keep their hooves off each other for one second, can they?”

“I, for one, think that it’s rather sweet,” Rarity said with a giggle as she approached Applejack’s side, leaning down so that she could rest her head on her marefriend’s shoulder. “Besides, you were much the same way yourself, you know?”

Applejack blushed and quickly turned her head to the side. “Well, y’all weren’t any better.”

“I was much better than you were.”

Twilight simply giggled and smiled contentedly as she watched the two lovey-dovey couples in front of her. Her smile fell, however, when she noticed the baby dragon standing to her right. “Oh, Spike!”

The four mares stopped upon hearing the name and turned to face the young dragon.

“Oh, she’s here,” Spike said, his eyes narrowed as they focussed on Trixie, before he walked towards the front door. “Sorry Rarity, but I think I’m gonna go clean up the library.”

“Spike, I-” Rarity began, but Spike was already outside of the door before she could say anything. “Trixie, please say something!” she pleaded, hating to see Spike so upset.

“What exactly should Trixie say?” Trixie asked. “Trixie has dealt with angry and upset children before, but she has a feeling the usual magic trick or two won’t work on this one.”

“It’s okay, Rarity,” Twilight said. “Just give him some space. I’m sure he’ll be able to work it out himself.”

“Are you sure?” Rarity asked, still looking off into the direction that Spike had wandered off in with a worried look on her face.

“I’m sure. In fact, as soon as you’re done taking my measurements, I’ll go straight back to the library and keep an eye on him. Okay?”

“… Well, if you say so…”

“Why is he so mad, anyway?” Trixie asked, looking down the street outside with a questioning look on her face. “Sure Trixie used him as a basketball, but she did much worse things to others.”

“Trixie,” Rainbow Dash started, “You obviously wouldn’t know this, but back when you took control of Ponyville, we looked ways to defeat you and get Twilight back, and found out about the Alicorn Amulet. When Spike saw that, he had a nightmare… that Twilight lost to you, again and again.”

“Spike’s always seen me as a kind of role model,” Twilight said, drawing Trixie’s attention towards her. “Back when you performed your first show, he was so angry that I didn’t accept your challenge. He wanted me to prove I was better than you, because he’s always believed me to be the best magic-user in all of Equestria.

“So when he had that nightmare, to him, it was like a realisation that… that I wasn’t the hero he had always seen me as. That there was an enemy I couldn’t beat, and he was afraid that he would never see me again.”

The shop remained silent after Twilight’s explanation, and Trixie simply turned to look outside once more as she took the story in. “Well he’s not the only one to lose a hero in his life,” Trixie muttered underneath her breath.

“What was that?” Rainbow Dash asked, causing Trixie to jump.

“Nothing,” Trixie said quickly as she turned around, before feeling a chill down her spine and turning back in an instant. “… It may be Trixie’s imagination, but it feels like we’re being followed right now.”

“What?” Rainbow turned to the doorway and looked outside. “I don’t see anything. I think somepony’s just being a bit too jumpy.”

“… Perhaps you’re right,” Trixie said as she walked further into the shop and turned her attention towards Rarity. “Now then, back to business. You said something about a new outfit for when Trixie is onstage, correct?”

“Oh, of course!” Rarity replied. “But first, I wonder if you could lend a helping hoof? Twilight here’s having a little bit of trouble controlling her wings.”

“Wingboners givin’ ya a hard time?” Rainbow Dash asked, bringing a blush to Twilight and Rarity’s faces, and a smirk to Trixie’s.

“Rainbow Dash, please!” Rarity shouted. “Let’s try to act like mature adults here! Our Twilight can’t help if her wings are sensitive to even the slightest touch.” Twilight’s blush intensified, and Trixie’s smirk grew. “Or if her wings are continuously flapping around against her will.” Trixie and Rainbow Dash broke out into laughter, thought Rainbow Dash made more effort to hold it back, whilst Trixie simply allowed her laughter to spill out.

“Ah don’t think ye’re helping, Rarity,” Applejack said, motioning her head towards Twilight, who was trying to mimic Fluttershy’s ability to hide behind her mane. “C’mon now you two. Ah’m sure you’ve had embarrassing moments like that in your lives.”

Rainbow scoffed and waved a hoof in the air. “Yeah, when I was like, a kid. But we’re not talking about those times right now.”

“Trixie may or may not have had her fair share of embarrassing moments,” Trixie said non-chalantly. “But you’ll never find out either way,” she added with a confident grin.

“We’ll see,” Applejack muttered to herself. ‘Won’t take long fer Pinkie Pie ta wanna know everythin’ ‘bout Trixie, an’ when it happens, she’ll get her info, one way or another.’

Trixie’s ears twitched and she quickly turned around again to look outside of the store window. “What’s up?” she heard Rainbow Dash ask beside her. “Don’t tell me you think we’re being followed again.”

“Trixie’s sure of it! She knows this feeling.”

Scootaloo glared as she looked inside the window of Carousal Boutique, grinding her teeth together and shaking her hooves in anger as she watched Rainbow Dash laughing alongside Trixie, whilst her wing was wrapped around the other’s mare back, bringing the two so close together that their flanks touched.

“Unacceptable… Unacceptable I say!”

Scootaloo gasped as she saw Trixie turning her head towards the window, and quickly ducked down into the bushes beneath her, flinching and barely holding back a bad word as she felt the twig scraping across her skin and forced herself into an uncomfortable position in order to remain hidden.

“Will you give it a rest already?” Rainbow Dash asked as she sat beside Trixie on the side of a fountain in the town square of Ponyville, bringing her glass of orange juice up to her mouth and taking a drink through the straw. Once she was finished she continued. “There was nopony following us! We checked like, a hundred times!”

“Once is not the same as ‘a hundred times’,” Trixie said with an annoyed scowl, which disappeared as soon as she took a drink of her own, refreshing beverage. Unlike Rainbow Dash, she was drinking grape juice, and she was pleasantly surprised by the taste. “And poking your hooves into a bush and rattling it a few times without even looking doesn’t qualify as checking.”

“Look, you’re just a little jumpy ‘cause of recent events. If you’d just let me talk to everypony to let them know you’re okay-”

“No!” Trixie shouted, poking her nose up into the air. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will revive her career her own way, thank you very much!” Trixie glanced over at Rainbow Dash when she heard no response, and saw her frowning as she stared back at Trixie. “You simply be ready to assist Trixie in her upcoming show, okay?”

Rainbow’s frown faded away and her ears perked up. “I’m in your show again?”

“But of course. Trixie cannot even set up her stage without you there to quell the crowd, remember?” Trixie looked down towards the ground and fiddled with the glass between her hooves as a tinge of red spread across her face. “And, if you so wish, you may also assist Trixie in her future shows, too.”

Rainbow Dash noticed the blush on Trixie’s face and grinned. She decided to have a little fun with the showmare. “Gee, I dunno. I think after one or two more ‘comeback’ shows, you’ll have things pretty much under control.”

Trixie looked up at Rainbow Dash with a look of absolute shock on her face. To her, the idea that somepony would turn down an invitation to share the stage with her was unbelievable, and whilst she would normally dismiss the fool’s ignorance and stupidity and move on, this time she couldn’t. Because she wanted Rainbow Dash on that stage with her. Not all the time, but sometimes, she felt, would be nice.

“You would turn down so great an offer? The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks you should think more carefully before you answer.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Rainbow said, waving a hoof dismissively.

Trixie narrowed her eyes as she glared for a few more seconds, and then, with a huff, turned her head away. “Whatever, it was just a suggestion,” she muttered, just loud enough for Rainbow Dash to hear.

‘Okay, I think that’s enough jokin’ around now,’ Rainbow thought to herself as she wrapped a wing around Trixie to pull her closer towards herself. “Well, maybe I could find some time actually. I do like ponies lookin’ at me.”

Trixie, taken off guard by the sudden winghug and her heart now beating so fast she could feel it, tried to regain her composure and act like nothing was wrong by acting casual, bringing the straw in her glass up to her lips, only to realise that her glass was empty.

“Hey,” Rainbow whispered into Trixie’s ear, sending a shiver down the Unicorn’s body, “Y’know I can feel your heart with my wing, right?”

Trixie looked down at her chest, and confirmed the tip of Rainbow Dash’s wing on the left side. “It’s just all the walking we’ve done today,” Trixie said casually as she looked off to the side.

“You mean that walking we did thirty minutes ago?” Rainbow Dash asked, reminding Trixie that she had been carried here from Carousal Boutique.

“Um… yeah,” Trixie said, prompting Rainbow Dash to lean in closer, which in turn prompted the ever-reddening Trixie to lean away.

“You suuuuuuure?” Rainbow asked in a teasing voice.

Trixie considered her options. She could either play the Pegasus’ game and lean in herself, giving Rainbow Dash a kiss that could either shock her into backing away, or lead to a full making out session that would last until somepony broke them up. Or, she could play a little game of hard-to-get by teleporting away from Rainbow Dash and insisting that they move on the next location.

Strangely enough, fate decided it was then that Trixie would develop stage fright and she leaned towards the option of teleporting away, but as it turned out she would not need to. For something else was about to come between them that would split them apart. Quite literally, in fact.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted as she popped up from behind Rainbow’s wing, her head in-between both ponies and a huge grin on her face as she faced her hero directly. “Lovely day out, isn’t it? Fancy meetin’ you here!”

“Uh…” Trixie began, but was unsure of what exactly to ask in this odd situation.

“Oh! Scoots!” Rainbow Dash shouted, quickly pulling back her head and retracting her wing. “Hey there! Haven’t seen ya in a few days, have I? Well, except for earlier at the farm, I guess.”

Scootaloo turned towards Trixie, who regarded the filly with a questioning look. “Hey there, Trixie! You never told me you were friends with Rainbow Dash!”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. ‘Did she just put major emphasis on the word ‘friends’?’ Putting on a smile, Trixie regained her composure. “Well Trixie was not aware that the two of you were acquaintances. And in fact, we are more than jus-”

“Yeah, I’m like her kid sister and stuff,” Scootaloo said, beaming with pride as she wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow’s waist. “This is so cool! Any friend of Rainbow Dash has gotta be awesome!”

Trixie gave the filly an odd look. “Uh, yes… The Great and Powerful Trixie can indeed be considered ‘awesome’. But what do you mean when you say you’re ‘like her kid sister’?”

“It’s kinda-” Rainbow Dash began, only to be interrupted by Scootaloo.

“Well, I don’t have any real brothers or sisters, and Rainbow Dash is just, like, the coolest pony ever! And the fastest flier in all of Equestria! And she adopted me as her little sister!”

“Not officially,” Rainbow mouthed to Trixie whilst patting Scootaloo’s head with a hoof. “Hey, squirt! How ‘bout doin’ me a quick favour?”

Scootaloo quickly jumped to attention. “Of course! What is it?”

“Could you get us some refills over there?” Rainbow pointed to the juice stand in the distance, where a few ponies were queuing behind some old stallion with a hearing difficulty. “One orange and one grape juice.”

Scootaloo nodded quickly and picked up the two empty glasses. “Roger! I’ll be back in twenty seconds flat!”

“Isn’t it ten seconds flat?” Trixie asked.

Scootaloo shook her head. “I’m not at that level yet.” With that, the filly turned around and charged full speed towards the juice stand.

“Well, that was interesting,” Trixie said. “Trixie didn’t realise you had a ‘like-kid sister’,” she added in a joking tone.

“She’s alright,” Rainbow Dash said, watching as Scootaloo unsuccessfully tried to get the old stallion at the front to move faster. “Just has a habit of popping up everywhere. I like the kid, but I need some time alone, y’know?”

“You’ll need it more than ever, now,” Trixie said with a sly grin. “… Oh no.”

“What’s up?” Rainbow Dash asked, noticing Trixie’s expression, somewhere between anger, horror, and worry. She turned around and saw the cause of Trixie’s concern. “Ah.”

“It’s true!” the short, chubby colt running towards the two mares shouted. His companion, a taller, skinnier colt, followed after him. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is really back in town!”

“Heya, Trixie!” Snails shouted as he waved his hoof. “Are you here to put on another show for us?”

“Oh, oh! I’ve got a request! Do the ‘saw a pony in half’ trick… but then end it with explosions!” Snips bounced up-and-down excitedly as he spoke, completely oblivious to the scowl that was growing on Trixie’s face.

“Oh trust me, I’d love to saw you in half,” Trixie muttered, not loud enough for the colts to hear, but perfectly audible to Rainbow Dash. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is exhausted from her travels. Go bother somepony else with your nons-”

“Oh! Trixie!” Snails shouted, causing Trixie’s eye to twitch from both the interruption, and the sound of the colt’s voice. “We were kinda wonderin’, if you ever came back, if you could teach us some magic!”

“Oh, yeah!” Snips said, nodding his head. “We do our own magic show too, y’see, but we’re… not so good at it.” A blush formed on the colt’s face as he remember their last performance, which somehow ended with their tails fused together in front of all of their classmates.

“As Trixie said,” Trixie said, grinding her teeth together and taking a deep breath, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is tired, and would much appreciate it if-”

“Please?” Snails pleaded, lowering down to his knees.

“Please?” Snips also asked, both of them now pleading for their hero to take them under her wing.

Trixie, however, could hold it in no longer. “GO. AWAY,” she said, her voice stern and cold as ice, and her gaze no longer just an angry glare, but a dark, silent threat that sent shivers down their spines.

“Y-Yeah. We understand,” Snips said. “Sorry, of course you’re tired right now. W-We’ll come back tomorrow.” Trixie’s eyes widened, and Snips flinched. “O-Or never. Never is fine, too.”

“Uh, sorry to bother you, G-Great and Powerful Trixie,” Snails said as he and his friend both got up and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Rainbow Dash said, stopping the two colts and causing Trixie to turn to face her.

“What?” Trixie asked.

“Don’t ya think that was a little harsh? I mean, I know you don’t exactly have a good past with them, but they-”

“If you’re referring to them bringing a creature that almost killed Trixie, and being the sole cause of Trixie’s biggest ever downfall and her descent into poverty, eventually leading to the acquisition of an artefact that almost consumed her mind, then yes, you are absolutely right about that.”

“It’s not like they meant all that to happen,” Rainbow said. “And I’m sure they felt terrible for it. Right guys?” she asked the two colts, who quickly nodded.

“Yeah, we felt terrible,” Snails said, lowering his and frowning. “We never meant for you to get hurt or nothin’. And we tried to help you by sending you our allowances, but we didn’t know where you were.”

“We’re really, really sorry,” Snips said. “And I promise, we’ve never once set hoof into that forest since that incident! Ever!”

“Oh, well then everything is just dandy, isn’t it?!” Trixie turned away from the two colts and Rainbow Dash, folding her forelegs as she stared off into the distance. “Do you ever realise that because of that one action, the Great and Powerful Trixie almost died, and not just once, either. Four times, Trixie had to face the reaper one-on-one. If it wasn’t for Rainbow Dash here, the Great and Powerful Trixie would be starving right now.”

Snips and Snails both exchanged sad glances with each other, before both slowly approaching Trixie. “We’re sorry,” Snails said. “If you don’t want to see us ever again, we’ll understand.”

“Yeah. I guess we’ll just get out of your hair now,” Snips added, the two colts once again turning around to leave.

“Hold on!” Rainbow quickly latched onto Trixie from behind and whispered into her ear: “Are you sure you wanna do that, Trixie? Look at ‘em! They’re trying to make amends for what they’ve done!”

“Then let them. By never again being allowed to witness Trixie’s spectacular magic,” Trixie said with a huff.

“C’mon, Trixie. Those two are like, your biggest fans! Are you really gonna toss them aside so easily? Even when you were a laughing stock, they still believed in you, and looked up to you.” Trixie turned to face Rainbow Dash. “C’mon, surely you remember what it’s like when ponies wouldn’t give you a chance?”

Trixie turned back to the two colts, who were both staring at her with hopeful, pleading eyes. “… Argh! Fine!” she said begrudgingly, lighting a spark of hope in the two colts’ eyes. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will give them a chance to prove how sorry they are, before considering teaching them some magic!”

Rainbow Dash sighed and shook head, whilst Snips and Snails ran over to her with wide smiles on their. “Yes, Great and Powerful Trixie!” Snips said with a salute. “Just tell us what to do, and we’ll-”

“For starters,” Trixie interrupted, “Trixie’s trailer is parked near the edge of town, near the windmill. It is covered in horrible red writing. When Trixie returns, she wants it spotless. Do you understand?”

Snips and Snails both nodded. “Yes, ma’am!” Snips shouted. “One spotless trailer coming up!” The two colts turned around and ran through the streets. “I bet I can make it more spotless than you!”

“Nuh-huh! I can reach the higher places!”

“W-Well, I can reach underneath it!”

As the bickering of the two colts died down, Trixie sighed and brought a hoof to her head. “Trixie has never hated children more than she does those two.”

“C’mon, they’re not so bad,” Rainbow said with a reassuring smile. “At least they’re willing to make things up to you. Out of curiosity, how many ‘tests’ are they going to have to take before you’re satisfied?”

“Who knows?” Trixie asked with a shrug. “If they’re actually half-competent, a lot.”

“Aw, come on. Using children as personal servants?” A glass of orange juice presented itself suddenly to Rainbow Dash, an orange hoof attached to it.

“I got your drinks!” Scootaloo said with a wide grin. “Anything else you want me to do for you?”

Rainbow took the glass and turned her attention to, who was giving her a smug grin as she took the glass of grape juice into her hoof. “Totally not the same thing,” Rainbow Dash said quickly, averting her eyes as she took a sip of fresh orange juice.

“Excuse me! Rainbow Dash!” The three ponies turn to see an old-looking grey mare heading their way. “Rainbow Dash, could I speak to you for a second, in private?”

“Uh, sure,” Rainbow said as she quickly finished off her juice and set the glass down. “Why don’t you two talk and get to know each other a bit?”

“Sure thing,” Trixie said as she watched Rainbow Dash follow after the other mare, the two of them stopping some distance away and talking to each other. Trixie looked down at the filly beside her and thought of what to say. “So… your name’s Scootaloo, correct?”

“Stay. Away from her,” Scootaloo said, jumping onto the side of the fountain and poking a hoof into Trixie’s chest.

Trixie raised an eyebrow as she saw the filly’s smile suddenly replaced with an angry scowl. “Um… come again?” Trixie asked, batting the hoof away with an annoyed look.

“You heard me. Rainbow Dash already has an awesome sister like me by her side. You’re just a distraction.”

Trixie furrowed her brows and lowered her glass as she returned the glare that the filly was giving her. “Oh really? And just what does it matter to you anyway? You got a crush on her or something?” The redness on Scootaloo’s face gave Trixie her answer. “Hmph. That’s too bad, because Trixie got her first.”

Scootaloo gritted her teethe together. “I knew her way longer than you have! I bet you don’t even know her fears, do you?”

“There’ll be time to learn that. But Trixie knows her likes, which is far more important.”

“Well I’ve flown with her! She lets me sit on her back while she flies!”

Trixie grinned and waved a hoof dismissively. “Filly, please. Rainbow Dash carries Trixie bridal style when we fly together.” Suddenly, Trixie remember how embarrassing it was to be carried that way, but she kept her cool so as not to lose this battle.

“Well, I’ve shared an ice-cream with Rainbow Dash!”

Trixie wondered to herself when this became a contest, but didn’t really mind. Because she knew she was going to win. “So has Trixie. More so than that, she has shared a bed with Rainbow Dash.”

“So have I,” Scootaloo said in a confused tone. She wasn’t sure why that was Trixie’s rebuttal.

“You have?” Trixie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah. When I was… having nightmares… Rainbow Dash said I could sleep in her sleeping bag with her,” Scootaloo said, smiling as she reminisced about the night that Rainbow Dash first took her under her wing.

Trixie, however, was giving the filly a huge grin as she barely held back a laugh. “Oh, I see. That’s adorable,” Trixie said, patting the filly on the head. “But you see, when Trixie says she has shared a bed with Dashie, she means in a way that a kid like you wouldn’t understand.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Scootaloo asked, annoyed by the comment and waving a hoof to keep Trixie’s away.

“Oh, you’ll learn when you’re older,” Trixie responded in a teasing tone.

“So what’s up?” Rainbow asked as she followed Mayor Mare to a spot some distance away from the fountain. “If this is about the downpour that happened during your family picnic, I already told you-”

“It’s not that, Rainbow Dash,” Mayor Mare said. “But thank you for reminding me. I’ll be expecting a formal apology by this time tomorrow. No, I actually want to talk to you about… her.” Mayor Mare motioned her head towards Trixie, who was sitting behind Rainbow Dash talking with Scootaloo.

“What about her?” Rainbow asked, thought she already knew where this was going.

“Well, I just don’t really feel comfortable seeing her walking around after what happened the last time she was here. That cage was not good for my back, you know?”

“Didn’t Twilight explain to you about the Alicorn Amulet?” Rainbow asked, receiving a nod from the mayor. “Well, do you see an amulet on her right now?”

“Please be calm, Rainbow Dash,” Mayor Mare said. “I would just like to know that she isn’t here on some mission for revenge, or that she isn’t planning to start any trouble with the townsponies.”

“So long as they don’t start things first,” Rainbow said. “Look, she’s cool, alright? And if she does start something, I’ll take full responsibility. Happy now?”

“… Very well then. If you are willing to vouch for her, then that is all that I need.”

“Oh, by the way,” Rainbow said quickly before the mayor could turn away, “I have a favour to ask you. You see, Trixie’s going to be putting on a show this weekend-”

“Is she now?” Mayor Mare asked. “Well, good for her, I suppose. It’s not healthy for a pony to suppress their special talent, and I’ll admit that I was quite sympathetic when I heard her story. It’s good to see that she’s getting back into her zone.”

“Yeah, listen, I just need you to help with the advertising. Can you…” Rainbow whispered her request into the mayor’s ear, who nodded a few times until Rainbow Dash was finished.

“Very well then. Consider it done.”

“Thanks. I owe you one,” Rainbow said as she turned to leave.

“Five,” Mayor Mare said as she watched the Pegasus leave. “And I intend to start collecting soon!”

“Well, your cape looks dumb, and your hat is just weird!” Scootaloo said, flicking Trixie’s cape and knocking the hat with her hoof.

“Oh yeah? Well your helmet makes you look stupid! No, wait, that’s all you.”

“Hey guys.” The two ponies quickly straightened themselves out and faced Rainbow Dash with smiles on their faces. “Er, everything alright?”

“Of course it is!” Scootaloo answered, approaching Trixie and nuzzling her foreleg. “Just getting to know my newest best friend in the whole world a little better, that’s all!” As she nuzzled, she used her tail to flick water from the fountain behind her onto the back of Trixie’s neck, causing the showmare to flinch and hold back a shriek as the cold water droplets moved down her back.

“T-That’s right,” Trixie said as her eye twitched. “This filly sure is something. No wonder you took her in as your little sister,” Trixie said as she used her magic to freeze the water around Scootaloo’s tail, trapping it in a small patch of ice.

“Cool! I’m glad you two are gettin’ along,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh, we sure are,” Scootaloo said with clenched teeth as she tried to free her tail.

“Anyway, we should probably move on now,” Rainbow Dash said. “We’ve got a lot of places still left to see.”

“Is that so?” Trixie asked. “Then it seems that this is where we must part ways for now, Scootaloo.”

“Oh, I don’t mind tagging along,” Scootaloo said.

“No, the Great and Powerful Trixie couldn’t possibly ask you to take time away from your surely-busy day for this.”

“But I insist.”

“But Trixie insists more.”

“If she wants to come, then just let her,” Rainbow Dash said. “Besides, I thought you two were getting along.”

“Oh, we are!” Trixie said quickly. “… Fine. Let’s go, Dashie.” With her magic, Trixie lifted one of Rainbow Dash’s wings and draped it over her body, turning around and sticking her tongue out at the filly behind her.

Scootaloo, now free Trixie’s spell, jumped up onto Rainbow’s back and made herself comfortable. As Rainbow Dash and Trixie began walking, Scootaloo turned to face Trixie and stuck her tongue out.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie will admit,” Trixie said as she entered her trailer, much later that day, “You really did manage to give the full tour in just one day.”

“Yep! Fastest in all of Equestria, baby!” Rainbow Dash said as she followed Trixie into the trailer. “Man, those colts really did a good job with cleaning this thing up.”

“… Yes, Trixie supposes that they did,” Trixie said as she sat down on her bed, followed by releasing a loud yawn. “It appears that this day has really taken it out of Trixie. It would seem that some rest is in order.”

“Not just yet,” Rainbow said she closed the door behind her, using her wing to lock it shut. “There’s still one last thing we need ta take care of. A little ‘gift’ I wanna give you to welcome you to Ponyville.”

“Oh?” Trixie turned to face Rainbow Dash, and caught on to the sultry tone in her voice, after seeing the seductive gaze in her eyes. “Oh.”

“No need to get up,” Rainbow said as she stopped Trixie from rising. “… So, I’m not quite sure how to do this, but I got some pointers today,” Rainbow Dash explained as she placed her hooves on Trixie’s shoulders. “So, lemme know if I do something wrong, okay?”

“What are you-” Trixie stopped and her eyes widened as she felt a wing trace along the base of her horn. “Ah…”

“You said something ‘bout a sensitive horn, right? If you reacted like that to just my wing, I wonder what this will do.” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and lowered her head towards Trixie’s horn.

Scootaloo growled in frustration as she heard the sound of the door locking from the other side. ‘Darn it, what could they be talking about in there?! I won’t let her get ahead of me that easily!’

Examining the outside of the trailer carefully, Scootaloo found something that looked like a window. Upon closer examination, it turned out that it was indeed a window, or rather one that was supposed to be covered by a window door that appeared to have fallen off of its hinges at some point, and was now lying on the ground outside of the trailer.

With a mighty leap, aided by her tiny wings, Scootaloo was able to grab onto the windowsill and peer inside… and see Rainbow Dash touching Trixie’s horn with a wing. ‘What are they doing?’ Scootaloo asked, before something she never could have imagined seeing happened before her very eyes.

Rainbow Dash leaned forward with her mouth open, and Trixie let out a loud shriek as her horn was enveloped.

Scootaloo quickly jumped off of the side of the trailer and backed away slowly, her eyes wide with horror and her face turning green. ‘W-What did I just see?! Why would they-’ Before Scootaloo could finish that thought, a loud scream came from inside of the trailer, and the filly immediately turned around and screamed herself as she fled the area as quickly as possible. She wasn’t sure what she had witnessed that evening, but she was sure as heck going to do her best to forget when she got home.

She had also decided that stalking was not her special talent, and that she would have nothing to do with it ever again.

Author's Note

So if Trixie marries Dashie, would that make Scootaloo Trixie's 'like a kid sister-in-law rival'?

Needless to say, Scootaloo will be appearing in future chatpers. Stalkerloo however has taken permanent leave. Today she learned what karma is.

Oh, and don't worry about Snips and Snails. I'm sure Trixie can't stay mad at them forever, right? :trixieshiftleft: Right.

8 - First Date (Part IV)

First date.

Everypony remembers their first date, be it a grand, romantic success or a terrible, heart-breaking experience. Rainbow Dash sure remembers hers, and she did not like it. Too much talking – about boring stuff to boot – and not enough flying, or playing, or going somewhere fun. And the way the guy tried way too hard to impress her, making a complete fool out of himself and embarrassing Rainbow Dash to no end.

A long story short, Rainbow Dash was put off of dating for a few months thanks to that. She didn’t want Trixie’s first date to be a disaster too. She still couldn’t believe that Trixie had never been on a date with anypony before, but if that were true, that just meant she had to make sure that their first date together – or their first real date together, in Rainbow Dash’s eyes – and Trixie’s first date with anypony, went off without a hitch.

The fact that they woke up in the same bed together, with Trixie sleeping soundly and with her hooves draped around Rainbow Dash’s body was already a good sign for the Pegasus. “Hey there. Sleep well?” she asked with a knowing grin.

With a long yawn, the still-sleepy Trixie sat up and stretched her hooves out, forgetting for a moment that Rainbow Dash was still there. When she remembered about the other pony’s presence, Trixie quickly straightened herself out with a minor blush, clearing her throat and faced Rainbow Dash with a cool, collected gaze.

“Good morning,” Trixie said before leaning in for a kiss. A quick peck on the lips was all she could manage in right now in her tired state, but it was also all that she needed to properly wake both herself and Rainbow Dash up.

With Rainbow Dash now fully awake, she took the lead after Trixie tried to move away, pulling her back in fir another, more passionate kiss. Trixie opened her lips to allow Rainbow Dash free reign over the insides of her mouth, closing her eyes as she relished the sensation of Rainbow’s tongue fighting her own.

After a while, Trixie began to wake up herself from the effects of the rush coursing through her body. She pushed forward against Rainbow Dash in an attempt to gain control, but this was only met by resistance on Rainbow’s part. The two continued their little struggle until finally, Rainbow’s stronger and more-trained physique won the battle for her, pushing Trixie down onto the mattress and pinning her there.

Rainbow Dash grinned as she looked down at the raggedy-looking showmare below her, pouting as she realised she had no choice but to accept this loss. “Does the Great and Powerful Trixie admit defeat?”

“Never!” Trixie scoffed as she struggled to break free. Her struggles came to an abrupt stop as she felt something brush against her sides. Something that felt suspiciously like- “N-No! Wings aren’t allow-OWWWWW-OW-OW-OWWWED!”

Rainbow Dash ignored Trixie’s protests, running her wings up and down Trixie’s side and releasing a maniacal laugh as the pinned-down mare broke into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Trixie’s horn would occasionally spark to life, but be it due to just having woken up or being distracted by the tickling, no spells seemed to take effect.

“Give in yet?” Rainbow Dash asked as she eased up on her assault.

“You’ll simply have to kill Trixie! Because she does not admit defeat!” Trixie proclaimed as her horn lit up once again. In a flash of light she disappeared from under Rainbow Dash and reappeared on the floor beside her bed.

“You’re a tough nut, but I think I can crack ya,” Rainbow said as she rose to her hooves, wings spread as she crouched down, as if ready to pounce. A sudden knock at the door caught both mares’ attention. “What? Who would be knockin’ on your door this early?”

“Only one way to find out,” Trixie said as she approached her door, cancelling the locking spell placed on it but leaving the chain-lock in place. She opened it as far as she could and peeked outside through the crack. “Yes?”

“Delivery for Miss Rainbow Dash!” a cheerful voice shouted from outside. Trixie turned around to give Rainbow Dash a questioning look, only receiving a puzzled look back from her marefriend.

“Derpy?” Rainbow asked as she approached the door, unlocking it and opening it wider. “How did you know I was here?”

The mailmare on the other side saluted, before reaching into her saddlebag and pulling out a package. “Trade secret, ma’am!” She gave the package to Rainbow Dash and then pulled out a clipboard and a pen. “Signature please!”

Rainbow put the package down onto the floor and signed the clipboard with the provided pen. Trixie, curious as to the contents of the package, picked the delivery up in her magic and gave it a slight shake.

“Have a good day, ma’ams!” Derpy said as she took to the sky and flew away from the trailer. Rainbow Dash turned around and frowned as she watched Trixie placing her ear to the package.

“What are you doing? You think there’s a bomb in there or something?” Rainbow asked.

With a sheepish grin, Trixie levitated the package into Rainbow’s hooves. “Who’s it from?”

Rainbow Dash examined the label. “From the Wonderbolts Academy. Guess it’s information on our next training session.”

“Wonderbolts Academy…” Trixie stared at the package with narrowed eyes. “Well then, you’d best open it and see what’s in there. Don’t want to miss anything important, after all.”

As good an actress as Trixie was, even Rainbow Dash wasn’t fooled at this point. She could tell that something was wrong, and she placed the package to one side and approached Trixie to find out what it was. “Hey, what’s up Trix?” she asked, wrapping her forelegs around Trixie’s neck and hanging off of her from behind.

“Nothing,” Trixie said quickly. She felt Rainbow Dash’s hold tighten, and she sighed. “It’s nothing, really. Just bitter memories, that’s all.”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t entirely satisfied with the answer she received, but she felt that it was probably the best she was going to get. “Well, okay then… In that case, let’s have lots of fun today to make you forget ‘em!”

“But the package-”

“Can wait,” Rainbow Dash said. “Today’s our first official date! I’m gonna make sure it’s totally awesome!”

Trixie smiled at the Pegasus’ words and turned around to give her marefriend another quick peck on the lips. “Well then, the Great and Powerful Trixie is counting on you to show her a good time.”

“Your orders, madams.” Two plates were placed onto the table that Trixie and Rainbow Dash were sat at, each one stacked with cinnamon and hay-coated pancakes, Trixie’s also containing some blueberries at the top. “Bon appétit.”

“Trixie is surprised,” Trixie said as she lifted her knife and fork up with her magic, bringing them over to her stack of pancakes to cut a portion out. “This isn’t quite what Trixie was expecting from this town in terms of service. Quick, efficient, and hospitable.”

“That’s why I chose this place,” Rainbow said. “Most high-class restaurant in Ponyville. Ponies travelling far by train usually stop here half-way, so we need places like this to get whatever bits we can out of ‘em. And it works, too.”

“Still, is the food as appealing as the service? That is something yet to be determined.” Opening her mouth and bringing the piece of pancake on her fork closer, Trixie closed her eyes and took an experimental bite out of meal. After a few seconds of tasting the food in her mouth, Trixie’s eyes shot open and she finished off what was left on her fork. “… Delicious,” she said as soon as she swallowed what was in her mouth.

“Told ya,” Rainbow Dash said as she picked up her own cutlery and moved to start on her own pancakes. She stopped when she heard a loud, familiar voice behind her.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow turned around to see Rarity walking up towards her, two empty saddlebags on her sides save for a piece of paper sticking out of one of them. “Pleasant morning we’re having, isn’t it?”

“Uh, yeah. It sure is,” Rainbow said. “I’d like to chat and all, but we’re kinda in the middle of something right now.”

“Oh, my apologies,” Rarity said, turning to Trixie. “Yes, I suppose you two will be going over the final touches of today’s show, and you can’t very well have somepony listen in and spoil the surprise now can you?”

“Actually,” Rainbow said, “We went over all that last night. We’re actually having our first date right now, so-”

Rarity gasped and turned back to Rainbow Dash with stars in her eyes. “Oh my! Your first date! Oh, I remember my first date with Applejack. Oh, I do apologise for interrupting. I’ll just be getting out of your manes no-” Rarity stopped as she stared at Rainbow Dash, her excitement dying down as she eyed the Pegasus up-and-down.

“What?” Rainbow asked, Not sure if she should be worried or not.

“Rainbow Dash, this is your first date with Trixie, is it not?”

“Uh… yeah?”

Rarity gasped and shook her head, he face displaying a look of absolute shock. “Your first date… yet you’re content to walk around looking like that?!”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she should or not, but she felt offended by Rarity’s statement. “Like what? This is how I always look.”

“Precisely!” Rarity shouted. “Oh, darling, you can’t simply walk around looking the mess you always do on a date as important as this! Scruffy mane may be attractive on a mare like you, but you simply overdo it! Your coat is untidy, and you clearly only settled for a quick shower this morning before going out. Your hair has so many knots and is completely uneven, you could do with a dab of makeup to bring out the colour of your eyes, a dress is certainly a must, perhaps one that highlights your athletic figure. Though you’ll still need to be able to fly so that you can carry Trixie home once the date is over. Unless Trixie is playing the stallion here, in which case your mane will need to be completely reworked! Furthermore-”

Rainbow Dash jumped out of her seat whilst Rarity was distracted listing all the things she had apparently got wrong with her appearance. “Hey, let’s go!” she whispered to Trixie. “While she’s not looking!”

“But Trixie is still eating,” Trixie said, holding her fork in the air and grinning at her date with an amused look on her face. “Besides, this is fun. Trixie does like a show while she eats.”

“And you!” Rarity shouted, pointing a hoof towards Trixie. “Wearing that same getup you always wear on your first date? I think not!”

Trixie looked down at her cape and tapped her hat with a hoof. “Hey, Trixie likes-”

“I suppose the cape could be worked into a dress to look both fashionable and beautiful, but the hat will definitely need to go. Perhaps a flower in your mane, or a five-pointed star manepin to match your Cutie Mark. Your mane is definitely much tidier than Rainbow Dash’s, but I’m thinking a different style is in order. Maybe a-”

Trixie quietly put down her cutlery and slipped out of her seat, joining a smirking Rainbow Dash who was waiting by the side of their table. “Okay, let’s go! Before Trixie gives her another green hair-makeover!”

“Grab what food you can and follow me, quietly.” Trixie nodded, using her magic to lift the two plates, casting a second spell to make sure the stacks of pancakes didn’t fall off, and followed after Rainbow Dash, leaving Rarity alone as she continued her rant, completely oblivious to the two mares’ disappearances.

As she followed, Trixie was so caught up in making sure that her spells didn’t falter that she wasn’t paying much attention to where she was going, much less to the pony that she inevitably collided with.

Rainbow Dash turned around as she heard the sound of Trixie’s yelping and something crashing onto the ground, and found two mare’s sitting on their rumps in the middle of the street, with stacks of pancakes and two paper plates spread across the ground around them.

“Oh my,” the red-maned, white-coated Unicorn mare said as she rubbed her flank and neck at the same time. “My bad. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“Ow…” Trixie looked around at the mess the collision had caused and bit her lower lip. “Great. There goes breakfast…” A white hoof entered her field of vision, and she looked up at the other mare offering to help her up. She ignored the hoof in favour of the blue one that entered her sights moments later.

“You alright?” Rainbow asked, receiving a nod from Trixie. “Sheesh, what a mess.”

“Hmph. Don’t worry, Trixie can clean this up in no time at all.”

Trixie’s horn lit up, but it wasn’t her magic that grabbed a hold of the pancakes she was looking at. It was a blue aura instead, and when she looked for the source Trixie found the white mare beside her lifting the scattered pancakes up with her own magic.

“You two are on a date, right?” she asked, receiving a questioning look from Trixie. “Trust me, I can tell romance when I see it. You two just leave this to me and go enjoy the rest of your date.”

“You serious?” Rainbow asked. “Wow, that’s way cool of ya. What’s your name?”

“My friends call me Mel. And please, don’t worry about it. It was my fault anyway.” Trixie eyed the mare suspiciously, wondering why anypony would make such a generous offer out of the blue, and a stranger at that. “You two make a cute couple.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Cute? Please! We make an awesome couple, is what you mean!” Rainbow threw her foreleg around Trixie, catching the showmare off guard. “Right?”

“I-Indeed,” Trixie said as she straightened herself out in Rainbow’s hold. “Well then… if she insists, the Great and Powerful Trixie sees no reason to delay.” Trixie turned to leave down the street. Rainbow Dash offered one final goodbye to the generous mare before following after Trixie. “… So what shall we eat now?” Trixie asked, wondering if they should chance going back to that restaurant where Rarity might still be standing.

“Hmmm… Guess we’ll just have ta hit up the marketplace for a quick snack!” Rainbow Dash said as she moved in front of Trixie. “C’mon, this way.”

Trixie frowned as she bit into her corn on the cob, staring down at the ground as she chewed the not-so-tasty snack in her mouth. She was sure that the shopkeeper purposefully gave her a bad one, because Rainbow Dash seemed to have no problem wolfing hers down.

“Will ya stop mopin’ already?” Rainbow asked as she wrapped a wing around Trixie. “So you messed up a lil’ bit. No big deal.”

“… Gee, you sure are a smooth-talker, Dash,” Trixie said with a pout. “Anyway, the Great and Powerful Trixie is not moping. Nor is she sulking, before you say anything.”

“I wasn’t gonna say that,” Rainbow said. A moment of silence passed. “But quit sulking.” Trixie shot a glare towards her date, who simply responded by pressing their noses together. “Just kiddin’. Don’t take everything so seriously, geez.”

Trixie harrumphed and pulled her head away. “Trixie was merely disappointed that that fine meal had to be cut short, that is all. Trixie was not letting it get under her skin.”

“Of course not,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes and leaning back against the back of the bench they were both sitting on.

“Well ah’ll be!” The two mare turned to their right to find Applejack approaching them, a smile on her face and a cart of apples behind her. “G’mornin’ you two. Ah don’t suppose y’all are on a date right now are ya?”

“How’d you know that?” Rainbow asked.

“Jus’a hunch,” Applejack said with a sly grin. “Hoo boy, this sure brings back memories! Mah first date with Rarity was a real hassle, that’s fer sure! Tryin’ ta figure out jus’ all the right ways ta please that mare, an’ havin ta wear that silly ol’ dress the whole time.”

“Did you drop your breakfast all over the ground and have to settle for below-average corn on the cob?” Trixie asked before taking another nibble out of her food.

“Uh… beg pardon?” Applejack asked, turning to Rainbow for some context.

“Little incident happened earlier, and she totally hasn’t been complaining about it since,” Rainbow Dash explained, though it did little to clear up Applejack’s confusion.

“R-Riiiiight… Anyhow, ah’ve gotta get these apples delivered ta the town hall by noon, so ah guess ah’ll leave you two alone.” Applejack was about to leave, when an idea struck her. “Ah know! We should all get together sometime. Me an’ Rarity, an’ you two.”

“You mean like a double-date?” Trixie asked.

“Sure! Why not?”

“That sounds cool,” Rainbow said, rising to her hooves and pulling Applejack away to whisper to her. “By the way, thanks for that advice the other day. It’s been totally great!”

“Glad ah could help,” Applejack whispered back with a sly grin. “Ah suppose ah can count on yer help next harvesting season now, instead of y’all just slacking off agai-”

“Welp, time to go now!” Rainbow suddenly said as she turned back to Trixie. “Better hurry up if we wanna catch a good movie in time!”

“But Trixie’s not done eating,” Trixie said, though her protest fell on deaf ears as Rainbow Dash extended her wings swooped Trixie up as she took off into the air. “WAH! Trixie has really got to learn to dodge that…”

At the Ponyville cinema, Rainbow Dash and Trixie were having a spot of trouble deciding which movie they were going to watch together. It was surely nothing that could not be resolved with a quick and civilised discussion, though.

“That movie looks boring!” Rainbow said as she eyed the poster for Teardrops and Snowflakes. “It’s just some sappy romance flick, and I heard they left it on a cliff-hanger and haven’t released the sequel for years now!”

“Well, what do you suggest then?”

“Hmmm… How ‘bout this?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing a hoof at the next poster along.

“A horror movie?”

“Sure! Unless, of course, you think you’ll be too scared to sit through it,” Rainbow said in a teasing tone.

Trixie scoffed and flicked her mane. “Hmph! The Great and Powerful Trixie does not get scared of silly little zombie films!”

“Care to prove it?” Rainbow asked in a challenging voice.

“Very well then,” Trixie stated as she walked over to the ticket counter, Rainbow Dash following behind her. The two purchased their tickets and some drinks, and then made their way into the screening room, flashing their tickets for the bored-looking mare at the door to check as they went in.

The two decided to sit somewhere in the middle row. There weren’t many ponies in front of them, so they had a good, clear view of the screen. “If you get scared, don’t feel bad about grabbing hold of me,” Rainbow Dash said with a smug grin.

“Thanks for thinking of Trixie, but that will not be necessary. Of course, if this were a romance movie, Trixie may have been all over you… since the mood would have been right.”

Rainbow considered that for a few seconds, and wondered if it was too late to get up and swap their tickets. From the look on Trixie’s face, it was. ‘Too late, we’re here and we’re watching this,’ is what Trixie’s expression said to her.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash and Trixie.” The two mares looked to their left to find Fluttershy walking up towards them. “Goodness, I didn’t expect to run into you two here. I thought that Rainbow Dash didn’t like Brave Little Rabbit.”

“‘Brave Little Rabbit’?” Trixie asked. “What’s that?”

“Some kinda children’s movie that Fluttershy showed me at one point.” Rainbow Dash shuddered as memories of that movie entered her mind. “Totally lame… Er, no offence, Fluttershy!” Rainbow quickly corrected as she turned back to her friend.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “To each their own. But, I’m confused. If you don’t like it, then why are you here?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow as she gave her friend a questioning look. “Uh, isn’t this the screening room for Manehatten Horror?” she asked. She turned to the two stallions sitting a few rows behind her. “Hey guys, this is the screening room for Manehatten Horror, right?”

“Yeah,” one of the stallions responded.

“No doubt about it. I always check carefully when I enter one of these rooms,” the other added.

Rainbow Dash turned back to Fluttershy, who at this point was turning pale and shaking slightly. “O-Oh my. I-I should go. I’m not good with horror movies…”

“Hey, no biggie. We can hang out some other time though, right?” Rainbow said, receiving a nod from Fluttershy.

Fluttershy turned around, and stopped when she saw four mares sitting themselves down at the end of the row. She then turn back to exit the other way, only to find a grumpy-looking stallion sitting at the other end. “Oh… Um, maybe I’ll just stay after all…”

“You sure?” Rainbow asked, giving her friend an incredulous look. “I mean, don’t you remember what happened the last time you watched something like this?”

“If you want, Trixie can simply teleport you outside,” Trixie suggested, only for the room to suddenly turn completely dark. “Oh… Never mind. Trixie needs a clear image of her target to teleport them somewhere… safely.”

“Oh, I really don’t mind,” Fluttershy said, lowering her voice to a whisper as she took a seat next to Rainbow Dash.

“Why don’t you just fly out?” Trixie asked.

“Well, I don’t want to be a bother to anypony sitting behind me.”

“Fluttershy-” Rainbow began, only for Fluttershy to interrupt her.

“Really, I’m fine. Please enjoy your date. J-Just pretend I’m not even here…”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip as the movie started. She knew that Fluttershy was just putting on a strong act so as to not inconvenience them. She just hoped that she really would be alright…

“KYA!” Fluttershy squeezed harder onto Rainbow’s leg, pulling it violently towards herself as if it would act as some sort of shield to repel monsters.

Rainbow Dash yelped as she was forcefully pulled closer to Fluttershy for the seventh time throughout the movie, and winced as she felt the blood running through her leg being cut off by the scared pony’s vice-like grip.

“Ssh!” was heard all around as ponies once more turned the trio of ponies responsible for so much noise throughout the movie.

“I-I’m sorry,” Fluttershy whispered, tears in her eyes as she released Rainbow’s leg.

“It’s fine,” Rainbow Dash lied as she pulled her leg away, shaking it a bit to get the blood flowing once more through her veins. A horrifying growl was heard all around the room, and Fluttershy immediately grabbed onto Rainbow’s leg once more.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” she asked, earning more shushes and a few insults from the ponies around her. “S-Sorry…”

“Ugh!” Trixie jumped to her hooves out of her chair and turned to the dark silhouette of Fluttershy to her left. “Right, that’s it! You’re getting out of here!”

“Quiet already!”

“Down in front!”

Trixie ignored the shouts from the ponies around her as her horn lit up, and seconds later every light in the room turned on at once. The ponies around her began to boo and chide her, telling her to leave and turn the lights back off, but Trixie ignored them as she focussed on the now-clear image of Fluttershy before her. Focussing her magic, Trixie cast a teleport spell on both the frightened mare, and on Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash blinked as she found herself suddenly sitting in the cinema lobby, a shaking and tearful Fluttershy standing beside her, looking just as confused, but also relieved.

A few moments later, the door to a nearby screening room opened, and angry voices could be heard shouting from within. Rainbow gasped as she saw a certain blue Unicorn walk out of the door, an upside-down cup on her head with coke running down her face, and popcorn and butter hanging in her mane and tail as she left the screening room.

“What happened?!” Rainbow asked, running up to Trixie with a mix of concern and fury.

“Turns out the ponies here don’t like their movie being interrupted by a little ‘light show’,” Trixie said in a casual tone. “Whatever, it was a terrible movie anyway.”

“Oh man, I’m so so so sorry,” Rainbow Dash said, quickly batting the cup off of Trixie’s head and brushing a few of the popcorn pieces out of her mane.

“What for? You’re not the one who did this to Trixie,” Trixie said.

“Um… I-I’m sorry about this,” Fluttershy said as she approached Trixie, a guilty look on her face as she examined the showmare’s appearance.

“You didn’t do this, either,” Trixie said, making no eye-contact with the yellow Pegasus. “You should be more assertive. If you couldn’t stand the movie, you should have just left.”

“B-But I…”

“That’s enough,” Rainbow said, grabbing Trixie’s hoof and starting to pull her away. “Come on, I’ll let you use my shower to get cleaned up. Fluttershy, you’ll be okay for now, right?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Y-Yes. I’ll be alright,” she said. “Angel likes to snuggle up next to me when he sees me having bad dreams, and it usually drives them right out.”

Rainbow nodded and left the cinema with Trixie. When they were both outside she picked Trixie up and carried her as they both ascended into the air together.

“… Thanks for what you did back there,” Rainbow said to Trixie. “Listen, don’t be too hard on Fluttershy. She can’t help it. She’s never been particularly brave, y’know?”

“… Trixie is only slightly annoyed at Fluttershy,” Trixie said, tightening her grip around Rainbow’s neck. Rainbow felt this and looked down to see Trixie shaking. “Those stupid ponies. How dare they do this to me, the Great and Powerful Trixie…”

Rainbow Dash leaned her head down and gave Trixie a light nuzzle in an attempt to calm her down. “It’s okay. It’s over now.”

“… Just for the record, Trixie wasn’t scared back there, when all those ponies ganged up on her. Nor is she feeling sad right now. Merely annoyed and angry, that is all.”

“You sure?” Rainbow Dash asked, holding onto Trixie tighter as she slowed down a little bit. “‘Cause I get the impression you’re not being entirely truthful here…”

“… W-Well,” Trixie began, hesitating for a moment before a reassuring squeeze from Rainbow Dash convinced her to trust the Pegasus. “Maybe… a little distraught… But if you tell anyone, the Great and Powerful Trixie will vanquish you!”

Rainbow Dash chuckled as she began her descent towards her cloud home. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anypony. Now use your cloud-walking spell.” After a quick flash of light from Trixie’s horn, Rainbow Dash touched down onto the cloud floor of her home, and gently lowered Trixie down onto it, making sure that she wouldn’t fall through it.

Rainbow considered that their visit to the cinema had been cut short, so now they had a huge hole in their schedule with nothing to fill it. With this, an idea came to Rainbow’s mind, and she shot Trixie a sultry grin. “You know, I think I could use a quick shower, too.”

Trixie turned to give Rainbow Dash a confused look. “But you already-” She caught on as soon as she saw the Pegasus’ expression, and gave a grin of her own as connected her hoof with Rainbow’s. The two shared a quick kiss before heading into Rainbow Dash’s house together.

After both mares had showered, and taken a little time to have some fun, Rainbow Dash decided to show Trixie her favourite spot in all of Ponyville: the Ponyville lakeside. The two sat by the lakeside together, enjoying a lazy afternoon together as Rainbow draped her forelegs around Trixie from behind, and Trixie simply lay back against Rainbow Dash.

“It’s rather peaceful here,” Trixie said as she rested her eyes for a moment. “Trixie can see why you enjoy coming out here to relax.”

“Yeah. Ponyville can get pretty loud sometimes, so I like to come here to just have some me-time.” Rainbow felt a frown forming on her face as she recalled the day’s events thus far. “… Sorry things didn’t quite go as planned,” she said, causing Trixie to open her eyes and look up at her. “Y’know, my friends interrupting and the whole thing that happened at the cinema.”

“… Well, to be honest, Trixie had very low expectations for today,” Trixie said, earning a surprised look from Rainbow Dash. “Not because of you or anything, but just that Trixie has learned a lot this past year… In particular, that life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows like in stories.” Trixie turned to the side to see Rainbow’s mane blowing in the wind, and laughed. “Well, I guess with you, it is.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and held back her own laughter. “So, what did you think then?”

“… Overall, Trixie would not object to a second date,” Trixie said, smiling up at Rainbow Dash. “Maybe next time, we can hire a sitter to keep your friends busy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rainbow joked as she lowered her face down towards Trixie’s, bringing their lips closer and closer together.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” The two mares jumped up with a start and turned to their left to see an orange Pegasus filly smiling at the pair of them. “Oh, sorry if I’m interrupting something! I was just wondering if you could help me with my homework!”

Trixie glared at Scootaloo as she simply smiled innocently at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow smiled back and moved away from Trixie and closer to Scootaloo. “Heh, you came to the right mare, kid! What’re we lookin’ at? Cloud statistics? Weather patterns?”

“Chemistry!” Scootaloo said in a cheerful voice, pulling two sheets of paper out of her bag. “We’re looking at empera… emperor…”

“Empirical formulae?” Trixie asked as she eyed the sheet.

“Uh… that’s more Twilight’s department, actually,” Rainbow Dash said with a nervous chuckle. “But if you have anything on the history of Cloudsdale, I can totally tell you everything you need to know!”

“Well, isn’t that a shame?” Trixie asked in a sarcastic tone. “Seems you’ll have to go bother- I mean, ask Twilight to help you out.”

Scootaloo spared a moment to glare at Trixie whilst Rainbow Dash wasn’t looking, and then reverted back to her cheerful smile. “Hey, aren’t you doing that show thingy soon?” Scootaloo asked Trixie. “Hope it goes well! It would be bad if you crash and burn or somethin’. Just sayin’.”

“And Trixie wishes you luck on your homework assignment,” Trixie said back. “It would be embarrassing if you were the only one not to answer the questions given to you or something. Just saying.”

Rainbow Dash looked between the two with a puzzled look on her face. “O… kay… Uh, she’s right y’know, Trix. We should probably get going now if we don’t wanna miss the start of your show.”

Trixie looked up to the sky to check the position of the sun. “Yes, you’re probably right.” Rising to her hooves and dusting herself off, Trixie gave Scootaloo a warm smile. “You should go find Twilight and have her help you out with your homework. Education is important, after all.”

“I’ve got time,” Scootaloo said. “I think I can spare some time to cheer you on during your show.”

Trixie’s eye twitched, but she didn’t allow her smile to fall. “Well, that’s very kind of you.” Rainbow Dash led the way back towards the town, with Scootaloo and Trixie following behind her, both exchanging glares to each other whenever Rainbow Dash wasn’t paying attention.

The park was filled with ponies crowding around Trixie’s trailer, waiting for the show to start. Both Rainbow Dash and Trixie were surprised by the turnout, not expecting so many ponies to show up considering what had happened the last time she was in town.

“Wow. I guess the mayor did a better job than I thought,” Rainbow muttered to herself as she looked over the crowd, frowning as she noticed a few ponies that were particularly unhappy with Trixie’s little episode when she wielded the Alicorn Amulet. “Hope everything goes alright…”

“What are you even doing here?!” Scootaloo suddenly shouted, prompting the two mares to turn around to see what was up. Scootaloo was standing in front of a pink filly wearing a small tiara on her head. “Since when do you care about magic shows?”

“I don’t. I was just seeing what all the fuss was about, that’s all.”

“Oh boy,” Rainbow said as she watched the two fillies arguing. “Diamond Tiara.”

“Who?” Trixie asked as she also watched, smiling as she saw Scootaloo getting riled up so easily by this other filly.

“Let’s just say they’re not exactly best friends,” Rainbow Dash explained. “You should probably go on ahead. I’d best stay here to make sure this doesn’t get too out of hoof.”

Trixie turned back to the two bickering fillies, giggling as she watched Diamond Tiara turn Scootaloo’s face red by with merely a few words and a cool attitude. ‘I think I like this filly.’

“Trixie! Rainbow Dash!” The two turned around to find Pinkie Pie bouncing up to them, two little foals sitting on top of her head. “You’re here! Does that mean the show’s about to start? The twins have been so super excited, I could barely control them!” Trixie stared at the foals, who seemed to be nodding off to sleep. “Oh, that reminds me, you haven’t been properly introduced, have you? These are the twins, Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake! Twins, this is Trixie! Say hello!”

“Ah-laaaa…” the two foals said together, followed by a long yawn from Pumpkin Cake.

“Um… You have kids?” Trixie asked, not sure whether the pink mare was actually more mature than she had first thought… or if she had just kidnapped two foals in an attempt to make some kind of strange joke.

“Oh, no no no no! They’re the Cakes’ twins! The Cakes are my bosses at Sugarcube Corner! I’m just watching them right now.”

Trixie wasn’t sure if that was any better. ‘Somepony gave her two fillies to watch, all by herself?’

“I know what you’re thinking!” Pinkie said with a serious look. “But I’m more responsible than I look! I can look after these kids in my sleep!”

Trixie could only nod in response. ‘Don’t fall asleep when you’re watching foals!’

“So, when’s the show gonna start?” Pinkie Pie asked, smiling widely at Trixie.

Trixie straightened herself out and cleared her throat. “Well-”

“You guys!”

“Oh, Twilight!” Pinkie bounced on the spot and waved over to Twilight as she approached the group. “You’re just in time! Trixie was gonna tell us when she’s gonna get this show on the road! Big announcements are always so exciting, don’t you think? Like the time I announced I was pregnant, although that turned out to just be a dream I had, but it was still super exciting and the party you all threw me was so great and-”

“Guys, have any of you seen Spike?!” Twilight asked, panting as she stopped in front of the three mares. Her eyes widened in horror as they all shook their heads. “Oh no…”

“Twilight?” Pinkie asked, her smile falling as she sense a friend in trouble. “What’s wrong?”

“I sent Spike out to return a book I borrowed from Zecora,” Twilight began.

“Zecora?” Trixie asked.

“Zecora’s a zebra. She lives out in the Everfree Forest,” Twilight explained. “You met her, remember? She gave me that doorstop that we said was an amulet.”

“… Oh. Her.” Trixie frowned at the memory that entered her mind. Even if she wasn’t in her right mindset, to think she allowed herself to be so easily fooled… “So what’s the problem?”

“Spike hasn’t come back, that’s what!” Twilight shouted. “And I checked with Zecora, and she said he never visited her! I’ve asked all around Ponyville, and nothing!

“You guys, Spike’s gone missing!”

9 - The Search For Spike (Part I)

It didn’t take long with Rainbow Dash’s help to gather up the rest of Twilight’s friends to form an impromptu search party at the border of the Everfree Forest. Twilight insisted that Trixie should stay to perform her show, knowing how important it was to her, but Trixie refused.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has a conscience, you know,” she said. “If she does nothing when she knows a child is lost in such a dangerous place. Besides, Spike is Dashie’s friend, and Dashie is Trixie’s marefriend now. Isn’t it only natural that Trixie should help out with the search?”

“But your show-”

“Can wait,” Trixie interrupted. “Besides, this way the Great and Powerful Trixie will have a more to-date story to tell.”

“Alright, we’re all here now!” Rainbow Dash announced as she flew in towards Twilight, Trixie, and Pinkie Pie. Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy followed after her. “What’s the plan, boss?”

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay… Here’s what I think we should do. We’ll follow the path to Zecora’s place, and keep an eye out for anything that could tell us where Spike went. If we find nothing, then we’ll split into three groups and search around the forest.”

“Trixie has these fireworks that she was going to use for her show tonight,” Trixie said as she waved her cape about to cover up the air next to her, and then pulled it back to reveal a chest of fireworks. Pinkie Pie applauded the little trick, whilst Twilight gave the showmare a curious look. “If we have to split up, we should take these with us. That way one group can signal the others if they need help, or find Spike.”

“Wait, how did you do that?” Twilight asked. “There wasn’t a flash of light, so it couldn’t have been teleportation, and you didn’t levitate it in from somewhere close by; there wasn’t any hint of it being dropped on the ground.”

“A magician does not reveal their secrets,” Trixie said with a smug grin.

“Is now really the time to be asking such a thing?” Rarity asked, her lip quivering and her legs shaking as she stared off into the Everfree Forest. Applejack grabbed one of Rarity’s forehooves and squeezed it tight, but it did little to calm her down. “Oh, my poor Spikey-wikey must be so scared right now! We have to hurry up and save him!”

Twilight nodded. “You’re right. Good thinking, Trixie. We’ll each take three fireworks. Use one if you find Spike, two if you’re in danger. The third can be used to scare away attacking wildlife.”

“The teams should each contain one pony capable of making a quick escape when necessary,” Trixie said. “Twilight and Trixie are capable of casting teleportation and distraction spells to flee, and Rainbow Dash is capable of carrying one pony as she flies away, so the three of us should be the bases of the three groups.”

“As for the companions…” Twilight said as she put a hoof to her chin.

“Ah ain’t leavin’ Rarity’s side,” Applejack said. “Not when she’s like this.” She motioned her head to the still-shaking Rarity, whose eyes were starting to tear up as she continued to stare into the forest.

“I thought you’d say that,” Twilight said. “You and Rarity will stick with me. I think that Pinkie Pie should stick with Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy should partner with Trixie.”

“Fluttershy?” Trixie asked with a raised eyebrow, turning to face the shivering mare smiling timidly at her and waving a hoof slowly. “Should she even be here? She doesn’t look like the type who would survive in such a dangerous place.”

“That’s where you come in,” Twilight said with a smile. “Her knowledge of wild animals should help keep the two of you safe, but in the event something too big for her to handle comes along, you’ll be there to help her get away.”

“Fluttershy’s an expert on wildlife?” Twilight nodded. “If you say so…” ‘At least I’m not stuck with the pink one. I should thank my lucky stars for that.’

“Let’s go then!” Twilight said. “Spike’s a resourceful dragon, but he’s still only a baby dragon! All alone, he’s easy prey for most of the creatures that live out there.”

Rarity froze up and fainted onto Applejack’s back, her coat turning even paler than its usual colour. “Twi!” Applejack hissed.

Twilight gave a sheepish giggle and then a sigh. “S-Sorry.”

“Spike?!”

“Spiiiiiiiike!”

“Spikey-wikeyyyyyyy!”

The girls called for their missing friend as they trekked the dirt road leading to Zecora’s house, walking slowly and keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. “If he had left his footprints, he would be easier to track,” Trixie muttered to herself as she stared down at the ground. “It doesn’t look like any wild creatures jumped out and attacked him.”

“We’re almost at Zecora’s hut,” Twilight said. “It’s no use. We’ll have to split into our groups and spread out to search the place.”

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash started, “Can’t we have the Princess send him a letter asking him where he is?”

“I considered that,” Twilight said, “But the trains aren’t running right now. We’d have to wait until morning before we can reach Canterlot.”

“Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight turned around to face Trixie. “Are you seriously going to leave Trixie searching blindly through the Everfree Forest with her?” Trixie motioned her head over to Fluttershy, who was hanging around Applejack’s neck on one side, shaking and shivering as she reacted with a gasp to every slight sound around herself.

“Trust me,” Twilight said, “Don’t underestimate her. Out of all of us here, she’s probably the most likely to survive alone in a place like this.”

Trixie did not buy that for a second, but she figured that there must have been something that Twilight wasn’t telling her if she insisted on leaving her with Fluttershy. Either that, or she just wasn’t as smart as she let on. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will trust your judgement then, for now.”

“Be careful guys,” Rainbow Dash said as she approached Trixie. “Especially you,” she whispered.

“What was that?” Trixie asked loudly. “Trixie couldn’t quite hear? You’ll have to speak up.”

A blush crossed Rainbow Dash’s face as she glanced over her shoulder at the ponies giving the two curious looks. She turned back to Trixie. “I said don’t do anything stupid!”

Trixie scoffed. “Coming from you?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof and glanced down at the ground, before quickly leaning her head forward and giving Trixie what was possibly the fastest kiss known to ponykind. She then turned around and flew over to Pinkie Pie, who was grinning widely at the Pegasus.

“Trixie and Dash-ie, sittin’ in a tree!” Pinkie Pie sang.

“Shut it,” Rainbow Dash said as she hovered above Pinkie Pie. “C’mon, let’s go.”

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Pinkie continued as she hopped after Rainbow Dash into some nearby trees.

“Pinkie!”

“First comes love! Then comes marriage…”

As the sounds of the two mares singing/shouting faded away, Twilight approached Applejack and Rarity and turned to face Trixie and Fluttershy. “Oh, and Trixie? Be careful of what you say around Spike. Keep in mind he still hasn’t exactly warmed up to you just yet.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has handled little ones before. She knows what she is doing,” Trixie assured Twilight.

“You know that he’s a teenager, right?” The look from Trixie confirmed that she did not. “Uh, perhaps you should just let Fluttershy do the talking.”

Trixie sighed as she turned to Fluttershy, who was grabbing onto her cape and still shaking on the spot. “Very well…” She tried to walk into the depths of the forest in the opposite direction to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, only to stop when she felt her cape snag on something. Looking over her shoulder, Trixie found Fluttershy still holding onto her cape, not moving from her spot. “Come on, let’s go. Before it gets even darker.”

“D-D-D-Darker?” Fluttershy asked, shaking even faster on the spot but still not moving from where she was standing.

With a sigh, Trixie snatched her cape out of Fluttershy’s hold and used her magic to pick up the frightened Pegasus and carry her along. Fluttershy yelped at the sensation of being carried, but didn’t fight it as the two journeyed deeper into the forest.

“Honestly, what possible use could a pony afraid of a rustling in the bushes prove to be in this situation?” Trixie asked herself as she carried Fluttershy through the forest’s trees. “Hey! You alright back there?”

“Y-Y-Yes…” Fluttershy stammered. “Um, I-I think I’ll be able to walk now…”

“Are you sure?” Trixie asked.

“Y-Yes… We have to find Spike, after all.” Trixie stopped and turned to face Fluttershy. “He needs us. I… I’m still a little scared, but I have to be strong…”

Trixie examined the look on Fluttershy’s face. It was clear to the showmare that Fluttershy was more than just ‘a little scared’, but it was equally clear that she had underestimated this mare’s abilities. “Just don’t go running off in a blind panic if we’re attacked,” Trixie said.

“I’ll try,” Fluttershy responded with a nervous smile as she felt her hooves touch the ground. The two continued their search together for the baby dragon, Trixie using her magic to light the area and call out for him, and Fluttershy timidly checking behind every bush and tree for traces of Spike’s presence.

Rainbow Dash shuffled through the thick foliage of to the side of her path in the hopes of finding something that would lead her to Spike. Footprints, paper from the book he was carrying, anything. Of course, the search would probably have been going smoother if a certain pink Earth Pony hadn’t been bombarding her with questions the entire time.

“Are you and Trixie gonna get married?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Pinkie Pie! We’re supposed to be searching for Spike!”

“I am!” Pinkie protested as she lifted up a rock and examined the ground beneath it. There was no Spike there, so she dropped the rock back onto the ground and hopped over to a nearby bush. “Are you and Trixie gonna have foals?”

“Pinkie!” Rainbow shouted, her face turning red from the question. “We’ve only been together for a few days! We’ve only had one real date! We’re not even living together yet! Besides, how would we even have foals in the first place?”

“Magic?” Pinkie Pie suggested with a shrug. “That’s how it usually works in these kinds of scenarios.”

“‘These kinds of scenarios’?” Rainbow Dash asked, though she received no answer.

“You’re right, though! You two should totally move in together, first.” Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped as the thought crossed her mind. “You two should totally move in together! I still haven’t thrown Rarity and Applejack their living-together party yet, so if you do it now it’d be like a ‘buy one get one free’!”

“Pinkie, your parties are free anyway,” Rainbow pointed out. “Besides, us two living together would be kinda difficult.”

“Why’s that?” Pinkie asked.

“Well, for one thing, Trixie lives in a trailer. And I live in a cloud house.”

“So?”

“… So, Trixie would fall right through the floor of my house if that spell of hers suddenly wears off, and her trailer is way too small for both of us to live there at the same time! And what would I do when she’s out of town doing her shows?”

“… You’re right,” Pinkie said with a frown. “But can’t you do things to your house to make it so non-Pegasi can walk on it?”

“That costs money, and I’m kinda low on it right now.” Rainbow Dash heard a rustling in some nearby bushes, and galloped quickly towards the source of the noise. “Spike?!” She pushed the bushes aside, only to find two rabbits quickly running away from her. “Darn it…”

“Hey Dash?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “What is it, Pinkie?”

“What do you see in Trixie, exactly?”

Rainbow turned back to Pinkie with an incredulous look. “Really? At a time like this?”

“But I’m curious. You told us how you two got together, but what do you actually like about her? Is it that she’s a show-off too?”

“… No, it’s not that,” Rainbow said as she turned away from Pinkie and continued to search the area for Spike.

“Is it that she’s smart and good with magic?”

“If it was that, I’d have hooked up with Twilight long ago,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Is iiiiiiiit… her flanks?”

“No! I mean, yeah that helps, but that’s not the reason! It’s… Look, I’m not sure why, I just can’t help but feel… that way around her.”

“‘That way’?” Pinkie asked as she tilted her head.

“Yeah. Like, my chest feels tighter, and I just wanna keep hangin’ out with her all day. I wanna know more about her, and tell her more about me, and… Well, you get what I’m sayin’.”

Pinkie shook her head. “I’ve never felt that way before,” she said. “I like a lot of ponies, but I’ve never like liked another pony, like you like like Trixie, or like Applejack like likes Rarity.”

Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head as she cast an awkward look to the ground. “Well, it’s… it’s kinda hard to explain. Around you guys, I just wanna have fun until we have to split. Around Trixie, I don’t want us to split. And, I feel this intense need to have her see me in a positive light. Like, I gotta show her the awesome side of me that she can’t resist.”

“But you’re like that anyway,” Pinkie pointed out. “You’re always showing ponies the awesome said of Rainbow Dash!”

“But with Trixie, it’s different. Her opinion means so much more. Her approval means so much more, and I-” A loud bang interrupted Rainbow’s train of thought, and both mares turned to the sky with a start. “Two fireworks… Somepony’s in trouble!”

“Oh no! We’d better hurry!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Yeah! Sorry Pinkie, we’ll talk about this later!”

Pinkie shook her head. “It’s fine. I think I get it anyway. Love is like Discord.” Rainbow raised a confused eyebrow at that. “Makes no sense, but that’s where the fun lies!”

“… Uh…” Rainbow Dash didn’t want to admit that that sounded so right. “Let’s just… go see who needs help…”

“Okey-dokey-lokey!” Rainbow Dash flew through the Everfree Forest, and Pinkie Pie hopped after her, a content smile on her face from the answer she had arrived at.

“T-Trixie, I don’t think you should be-”

“Just stay back, Fluttershy,” Trixie said as she stared down the vicious beast in front of her. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has the situation under control.” ‘Just run you stupid filly! It’s a bucking manticore, why are you not running?!’

“B-But Trixie, I-”

“You may want to go hide. This may get ugly.” ‘Run already, before it attacks!'

“But-”

“And you, manticore! You have just three seconds before the Great and Powerful Trixie makes you wish you had chosen a different path to hunt down tonight!” ‘We are so screwed…’

The manticore reared up onto it hind legs, and then stomped down onto the ground, unleashing a bloodcurdling roar that would have blown Trixie’s hat off of her head had she not pinned it down with a forehoof.

Before Trixie could react, a yellow blur shot in front of her. “Fluttershy, what-”

“Oh, uh, g-good evening, ma’am,” Fluttershy said, giving a court bow to the beast standing before her. “We’re terribly sorry to have interrupted your hunt, we were just looking for a friend of ours who’s lost in the forest.”

The manticore eyes the yellow Pegasus for a few seconds, before waving its paw dismissively and grunting. It then turned around and started walking away, leaving a smiling Fluttershy waving goodbye to the beast, and a stunned and shocked Trixie, her jaw almost hitting the ground.

“W… What was that?” Trixie finally managed to ask after the manticore was out of sight.

“Oh. Um, she was just a little upset that you scared its prey away with all your shouting, but she said it’s okay and she’ll let it slide, but you’ve got to be just a little more quiet from now on.”

“You… understood it?” Trixie asked in a disbelieving tone. “The manticore. You understood what it was saying.”

Fluttershy blushed and turned her head to the side. “I-Is that bad?”

Trixie’s head titled as she stared at the mare before her. “And you didn’t think to mention this ability earlier?”

“W-Well, I-”

“How are you not rich right now?” Trixie asked. “Ponies would good money to see you handle a manticore one-on-one like that, or to save a village of ponies from a timberwolf attack!”

“Oh, no. It doesn’t work like that,” Fluttershy said. “I can’t convince a pack of wolves to leave when they’re just searching for food. And I didn’t ‘handle’ the manticore, I just apologised for all the noise we were making.”

“Even so! If Trixie had apologised, it would have just ignored her and ripped her to shreds! Er, tried to, at least. Obviously Trixie would have totally won.”

“Um, I’m not really that special…”

“The hay you’re not! Trixie knows talent when she sees it!” Trixie wrapped a foreleg around the shy pony. “You know, that ability of your could come in very hand in Trixie’s shows. How about it? Want to join up with Trixie some time to impress the masses?”

Fluttershy slowly shook her head. “I-It’s a nice offer and all, really, but I… I don’t feel comfortable being on a stage in front of so many ponies, and my ability isn’t really all that great…”

Trixie sighed and released the Pegasus. “Fine, suit yourself.” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief, though it was short-lived. “The Great and Powerful Trixie shall convince you at a later date, but for now, we have a baby dragon to find.”

Fluttershy nodded. “J-Just lower the volume a little bit, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Trixie wandered over to some nearby bushes and pushed past them. “Spike? Are you he- WAAAAAAAAH!”

“Trixie?!” Fluttershy turned around and ran towards the bushes, yelping as she set one hoof in and found herself at the top of a very steep slope. Using her wings, Fluttershy quickly took to the air and moved back a bit. “Trixie! Are you okay?!”

“Just fine!” Trixie shouted from the bottom of the slop, dusting off her hat before placing it back onto her head. “Don’t come after me! It’s a long fall down!”

“Are you hurt?!”

“Trixie banged her head a little, but nothing serious! Oh no… I can’t find my bag! I must have dropped it as I was falling!”

“Can you teleport back up?!”

A moment of silence passed as Trixie attempted to cast a teleportation spell. “The blow to my horn must have shorted out my magic! I can’t do any spells right now!”

“Don’t go anywhere!” Fluttershy shouted. “I’m going to send the girls a signal for help!”

“Don’t go anywhere?” Trixie muttered as she looked around herself. “Where exactly would Trixie go in a spooky forest like this?” Trixie winced as she felt her head throbbing. She tried to channel some magic into her horn, and found it to be a fruitless endeavour. “Guess I’ll just wait until-”

“Una criatura extraña!” Trixie took a step back as three creatures jumped her from the shadows. She wasn’t sure exactly what they were, but they appeared to be large dog-like creatures wearing orange armour with silver linings. Only, unlike most dogs, these one were standing on their hind legs and were wielding spears.

“Vamos a capturarla,” another one of the dogs said, and suddenly the three creatures began to close in on Trixie.

Trixie considered her chances of survival if she attempted to fight them, and she did not like the odds she came up with. “H-Hold on. Let’s talk about this, shall we?”

The dogs carried Trixie through the Everfree Forest in the most undignified manner the showmare had ever experienced. Her hooves had been tied to a long pole and she was hanging upside-down as her captors carried her tribal style to Celestia only knows where.

Thanks to the blow to her horn, Trixie was still unable to conjure up enough magic to free herself, but thankfully they hadn’t resorted to binding it, so if she could just stall for enough time she could use her magic in… five to ten minutes, the showmare estimated. Of course, she was no doctor, but it was a rough guess based on past experiences of hurting her head as a filly.

“Hey,” she called out to whichever dog was in charge, “Where are you taking the Great and Powerful Trixie? She demands to know!” The dogs ignored her. “Trixie warns you, she will only give you fifty chances before she shows you no mercy!” They still ignored her. “… Your breath smells like macaroni and cheese and I am quite frankly appalled by your lack of noodles.” No reaction from any of the dogs.

Either the Royal Guard had met its match in the art of remaining stoic and statue-like, or these dogs couldn’t understand what she was saying. Since it seemed that further attempts at talking with them would be utterly useless, Trixie decided to simply click her tongue as she waited for her magic to recharge. ‘Hopefully Rainbow Dash will find me after seeing those fireworks.’

“¡Hemos capturado una extraña criatura!” Trixie heard one of the dogs say as they stopped. “¡Nos gustaría ofrecerla a nuestro nuevo jefe!”

“La ceremonia está a punto de comenzar. Tendrá que esperar.”

“Pero lleva el aroma de una deliciosa oferta! Creemos que sería un gran homenaje a los recién casados.”

Trixie heard footsteps approaching her. A dog dressed in green armour stopped by her side and took a whiff of her, much to Trixie’s chagrin. “Excuse you, you uncouth mutt!”

“Es cierto. Adelante, la anciana seguramente estará contenta.”

“Sí.” The dogs carrying Trixie continued to move, and Trixie’s vision became darkened as they entered a cave. After some more walking, the dogs stopped and untied Trixie, before throwing her onto the ground. “¡Hemos traído a esta ofrenda, para honrar el día de la boda de nuestros mayores!”

“Ow! What the buck?!” Trixie shouted as she lifted her head off of the ground, spitting out the dirt that had entered her mouth.

“Trixie?!”

Trixie gasped as she saw a familiar baby dragon sitting before her. The same purple creature she had been searching for when he got caught by these brutes, dressed in a set of dark-blue robes and wearing a strange hat that was easily three times the size of his head. Trixie found it hard not to laugh at Spike’s ridiculous clothing.

“Conoces a esta criatura?” the dog sitting beside Spike – dressed in similar clothes but coloured green instead of blue – asked.

“S-Sí. Es uh, mi asistente. Es totalmente inofensiva,” Spike said.

“You can understand them?” Trixie asked. “What language is that?”

“Espaneighol,” Spike said. “I studied it while Twilight was at school. Since I didn’t get to go, Cadance offered to teach me some things so I could know what going to school felt like.”

“Hirió a tres de nuestros soldados!” one of the dogs behind Trixie shouted. “Casi ‘inofensivo’!”

“Gracias,” the dog sitting next to Spike said. “A gusto. Esta es mi boda.”

“D-Disculpas.” The dogs around Trixie backed away and stood tall and straight, they eyes focussed on the air in front of them as the dog sitting beside Spike motioned with her paw for Trixie to come closer.

Trixie obeyed, if only because the fact that Spike was unharmed helped her feel at ease. “Has interrumpido mi día de la boda,” the dog said.

“Uh…” Trixie turned to Spike for help.

“Maybe I should explain,” Spike said with a blush as she fiddled with his tail. “You see, I was on my way to Zecora’s – that’s this zebra I know who lives in the Everfree Forest – when I heard some sounds in the bushes. I thought it might have been like a manticore or a cockatrice or something, so I hid behind the nearest tree I could find.

“I was captured by this dog tribe that has been living in vast and complex cave systems for centuries. They don’t take kindly to dragons, since it was a dragon that drove them out of their last cave, but the elder here thought I was… kinda handsome…” ‘Or cute, whatever.’ “… She said she would spare my life, if I married her and became chief of this tribe.”

Trixie’s eyes were wide as she looked between the elder and the baby dragon. “You’re… getting married?”

“… I guess so,” Spike said. “Either that or I get killed.”

Trixie knew that there was a time and a place for everything, even laughter. She decided to file this story away for laughter later, and set her gaze on the elder. “Aaaaand, what is their stance on ponies?”

“They’ve never met a pony before. But I can tell you this: she’s not happy that you interrupted her wedding day.”

“Well, it’s not like Trixie meant to. She was ambushed and was just trying to defend herself. Though now that she finds out you’re here, that changes things.”

“One moment,” Spike said before turning to the elder. “Ella no lo sabía. Sólo estaba perdida en el bosque cuando los guardias la subieron. No era su intención interrumpir la boda.”

“Aún así, ha sucedido. ¡Nuestras leyes dictan que debe ser decapitada y su cabeza sirvida a mi novio en una bandeja de plata!”

Spike was silent for a long time. Trixie did not like it. “What did she say?” she asked.

“Uh… You’re… not going to like it,” Spike said. “Basically, because you interrupted our wedding, even though it was an accident, you’ve gotta be killed… and your head served to me as a meal…”

“WHAT?!” Trixie shouted as she jumped back away from the elder. The dogs around her attempted to move but a raised paw from the elder stopped them. “That’s the last time the Great and Powerful Trixie offers her services for your sake!”

“It’s not like I want to eat you!” Spike shouted back. “Besides, why are you even here anyway?! You know I don’t like you!”

“You were lost, and you’re Dashie’s friend! That’s why I came out here searching for you!”

“Yeah right! I bet you were planning to just slack off and then make up some big story of how you fought off a hydra to save me, am I right?!”

“You ungrateful little-”

“Estoy dispuesta a hacer una excepción,” the elder said, cutting off the argument between the two. “Estoy dispuesta a perdonarle la vida a una criatura tan hermosa, si está dispuesta a tomar la pata de mi hijo en matrimonio.”

“Translation?” Trixie asked.

“She’s willing to spare your life,” Spike said, eliciting a sigh of relief from Trixie. “Catch is, you gotta marry her son.”

“What?!” Trixie squeaked. “Tell that bitch the Great and Powerful Trixie is already in a happy relationship!”

“… You’ve only been dating for a few days,” Spike said. “And there’s no need for that language.”

“Just do it!”

“Alright… Ella ya está en una relación.”

“Entonces debe morir. No hay otra opción.”

“Yeah, they’re not going for it. Should I tell them you accept their offer?”

“No!” Trixie shouted, jumping to her hooves and running over to Spike. “Tell them that if they don’t let me go, YOU DIE!” Using her right foreleg, Trixie picked Spike up and held him tight, and using her left forehoof, she pulled out a small switchblade knife and pressed it against Spike’s throat.

Spike, caught off guard by the sudden attack, released a high-pitched scream that caused all of the dogs around him to cover their ears. “U-Uh… Ella me va a matar si no la dejas ir…”

“I’ll do it! I’m crazy!” Trixie shouted.

“You got me convinced,” Spike muttered under his breath.

“¡Guardias! Déjenla pasar! Ella no debe dañar a mi novio!” the elder shouted.

“Uh, you got the all clear,” Spike told Trixie. The showmare nodded, and slowly began backing out of the cave, keeping a close eye on every single dog as she did so.

As she stepped outside the cool night air brushed against her coat, and a chill ran down her spine as her sharpened instincts warned her of danger coming from behind. Turning around, Trixie was just in time to swing her knife and block an attack from one of the guard dogs standing outside. However, the dog proved to physically be more powerful than her, and the knife in Trixie’s hoof was knocked out of her grip and down towards the ground.

“What now?” Spike asked with a worried look on his face.

Trixie focussed her magic, and was delighted to feel a reaction, albeit a weak one. She was close to recovering, but for now, all she could do was grab Spike in a levitation spell and throw him onto her back. “Now… RUUUUUUUN!” she shouted as she turned tail and ran as fast as she could through the dark forest. Behind her, she could hear the footsteps and the cries of the guard dogs behind her.

“¡Atrápenlos!”

“Para mayor!”

Spike had to wrap his arms around Trixie’s neck in order to not fall off of her back. As much as he disliked it, he had to admit that it was better than getting married to some dog and spending the rest of his life in a cave system in the Everfree Forest.

“Hold on!” Trixie shouted. “This is going to be a bumpy ride!”

Rainbow Dash kicked the roaring timberwolf into the nearest tree and continued flying through the Everfree Forest. “Darn it! Where is she?!” she asked out loud as she stared down at the tracks on the ground. “Trixie, you’d better not be-” She was cut off by a scream in the distance. “W-Who was that?!”

Picking up her speed, Rainbow Dash soon spotted a cave in the distance, surrounded by what she recognised as Diamond Dogs dressed in armour. Coming out of the cave was Trixie, and she was carrying… “Spike?!” One of the dogs approached Trixie from behind. “Look out!” she shouted as she dashed forward.

She watched as Trixie deflected the attack and began to run away, carrying Spike on her back as she did so. She quickly gave chase after her and grabbed one of the fireworks from her saddlebag. “Hey, you dumb dogs!” she shouted to the pursuing pack of dogs. “Take this!” Lighting the fuse, Rainbow Dash released the firework and allowed it to go off towards the dogs.

The frightened dogs stopped in their tracks and turned tail in order to retreat. Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry to the fleeing pack of dogs before picking up her speed in order to catch up with Trixie. “You guys okay?!”

“Dash!” Trixie shouted. “How did you find us?!”

“I followed the footprints left by those guys back there! What’s going on?”

“It’s a long story,” Trixie said, “But basically, Spike was about to elope and-”

“I was kidnapped,” Spike corrected.

“And he was about to marry into a pack of dogs-”

“Against my will!”

“So the Great and Powerful Trixie saved him!” Spike opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. “Well? Not got a problem with that?”

“… You didn’t have to threaten me.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “She threatened you?”

“An act,” Trixie said quickly. “To create an opening with which we could escape. And it worked, did it not?”

Spike refused to say anything. He simply folded his arms and turned his head away from the two mares.

“Well, it looks like we lost those guys,” Rainbow said. “Look! A waterfall up ahead!”

“Let’s rest there,” Trixie suggested. “You got any more of those fireworks?”

“Yeah. I’ll send a signal once we stop moving.” As soon as the trio reached the small lake, they stopped to take a breather. Spike was more than happy to lose the ridiculous clothes he had been made to wear, and quickly hopped into the lake to ‘cool down’. “You’re not hurt, are you?” Rainbow Dash asked Trixie, a concerned look on her face.

“Trixie may have banged her head a little bit, but it’s getting better,” Trixie said. She wasn’t expecting Rainbow Dash to lean in and plant a soft kiss on her forehead. “… O-Okay, now it’s a lot better.”

Rainbow Dash pulled back and grinned. “Glad I could help. I’m gonna set these things off to let the others know where we are.”

“Just set one off, so they know we’re here with Spike. Otherwise they might split into two parties, and we may need the other firework if more trouble shows up.”

“You got it,” Rainbow said. She turned to Spike, who was sitting quietly in the lake, his back turned to the two mares. “Hey, you two… didn’t fight earlier, did you?”

“… Let’s just say it’s not looking like our relationship will get better any time soon.”

“Well, I think you should talk to him,” Rainbow said. “At the very least, I think you should at least try to make peace with him.”

“But he’s the one with a grudge against Trixie. What would Trixie say to that?” Trixie asked.

“You’re a clever girl, right?” Rainbow asked, poking Trixie’s forehead playfully with a hoof. “I’m sure you’ll think of something. C’mon, do this for me.”

Trixie gritted her teeth together and kicked the ground. “… Fine. Trixie will speak with him, but she will not guarantee any favourable results.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and walked away, to both set off one of the fireworks, and to give Trixie and Spike some room to talk.

Trixie approached Spike slowly, trying to think of what would be the best way to approach this situation. “Uh… How’s the water?”

“It’s fine…”

“… Look, the Great and Powerful Trixie would like you to know, whatever grudges you may hold against her, whatever fears or malice you may have for Trixie, she is willing to help you work through them.”

Spike sighed and shook his head. “Can’t you just leave me alone? Just… I don’t care if you’re in a relationship with Dash or whatever. Hay, you can be Mayor of Ponyville for all I care. Just stay away from Twilight and me, okay?”

“… Trixie has no intention of taking Twilight Sparkle away from you-”

“I don’t care!” Spike shouted. “I don’t care what you have to say! Twilight’s my… She’s like my big sister! I love her more than anything in the world, and I would do anything for her! And you took her away from me! You can’t fix that with a simple apology!”

Trixie heard the firework launch some distance away, and waited for the explosion before continuing. “You’re not the only one who’s lost somepony important to them,” Trixie muttered.

Spike apparently heard what she had said, though. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“… Never mind. Sorry to have disturbed you,” she said as she turned away. She left the baby dragon to his bathing and was approached by Rainbow Dash. “Well, Trixie tried.”

“No luck?” Rainbow asked after seeing the frown on her marefriend’s face. She leaned in and gave Trixie a light nuzzle. “At least you tried. Don’t worry, I’ll have a word with him later and-”

“Don’t bother,” Trixie said as she sat down on the ground. Rainbow Dash followed suit. “You can’t force friendships, and not all grudges can be resolved. Sometimes, it’s best if two ponies simply stay away from each other.”

“But-”

“Please don’t push it,” Trixie said, her tone shifting from neutral to annoyed. “It’s been a long day. Let’s just have a peaceful respite under the stars.” Trixie leaned over and rested her head on Rainbow’s shoulder.

With a sigh, Rainbow Dash extended her wing and wrapped it around Trixie’s back. “… Alright. For now, I’ll drop it.”

Spike climbed out of the lake and stared at the two mares for a second, before deciding to rest a short distance away from them. As he lay down on the hard ground beneath him and stared up at the night sky, his eyes continued to steal glances at Trixie. ‘… I should thank her for saving me, but…’

An image flashed in Spike’s mind. Twilight, held in a red magical aura, being thrown out of Ponyville and then cut off from him by a see-through barrier. He turned onto his side so that his back was to Trixie, and closed his eyes as he pretended to fall asleep.

Author's Note

~~Note: The Spanish for this part was provided to me via Google Translate. If anypony has any problems with it, I apologise, and please feel free to PM corrections if you speak both English and Spanish fluently. As I don't speak a word of Spanish, I honestly have no clue whether or not Google Translate has been at all accurate in this situtation.~~

Thanks to Khao for providing correct translations for the Spanish lines. Here's hoping they're not just screwin' with me, 'cause I honestly have no clue if their translations are any more accurate than Google's :P

For Spike's scream reference, see video:

10 - The Past Returns (Part II)

Rainbow Dash stared at the night sky above her, wondering what was taking her friends so long. Sure she had taken off without them, and made quite some distance between them when she pursued Trixie, but it shouldn’t have taken half-an-hour for them to find her again, right?

“Brrr…”

Rainbow’s eyes shifted to Trixie laying down beside her, one of her wings wrapped around the shivering showmare. “You cold?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It’s kinda chilly out tonight, huh?”

“T-That’s not it,” Trixie said, grabbing a hold of Rainbow’s wing and wrapping it tighter around her body. “Where is that stupid search party? At this rate, we’d be better off finding a way out of here ourselves.”

“You should’ve brought an ‘I’m going on ahead’ firework,” Rainbow joked, hoping to lighten the mood a little bit and take Trixie’s mind off of the cold. “So, uh… I guess we’ll have to reschedule your show.”

Trixie glanced over towards the snoring baby dragon some distance away from the two mares. “Yeah, well, it wouldn’t have done if Trixie’s show had ended on a downer like: ‘We couldn’t find Spike!”, or ‘Spike’s been eaten by timberwolves!’.”

Spike’s snoring stopped momentarily as he clenched his claws and resisted the urge to sit up and glare at the showmare talking behind his back. ‘Just keep pretending you’re asleep!’

“And Trixie’s marefriend was heading into a dangerous place. Naturally I would want to come along to make sure nothing happened to you.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and shot Trixie a smirk. “And yet I was the one saving your flank.”

Spike grinned and nodded his head silently.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie had the entire situation under control.”

Spike frowned and shook his head slowly.

“… Hey,” Rainbow Dash said, “That thing you said back at the boutique…”

“What thing?” Trixie asked, closing her eyes and snuggling into Rainbow’s wing with a soft yawn.

“You said that Spike wasn’t the only one to lose a hero.” Rainbow Dash felt Trixie’s movements beneath her wing stop. “What did you mean by that?”

It took a moment for Trixie to come up with an answer. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “You must have misheard.”

“Don’t give me that,” Rainbow said, pulling her wing back and scowling at the showmare previously beneath it. “C’mon, Trixie. If we’re gonna be a thing now, you gotta start trusting me.”

“Trixie does trust you,” Trixie muttered.

“Then tell me what you meant,” Rainbow Dash pressed.

“Look,” Trixie said with a sigh, sitting up and turning to face her marefriend, “It’s just a silly little story from Trixie’s past, that’s all. You wouldn’t be at all interested in hearing it.”

“Are ya kiddin’?” Rainbow asked. “After all the ‘silly little stories’ you heard from my dad, I think I deserve to hear a few from you.”

“Very well. How about Trixie tells you about her first ever written exam?” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Trixie’s first time cooking?” The Pegasus frowned. “First time she pulled a prank on a teacher? Now that’s a pretty funny one.”

“Trixie,” Rainbow said in a flat tone, staring sternly at the showmare. Trixie’s ears flattened against the side of her head and her eyes widened and glistened in the moonlight. “I’ve seen Fluttershy give me that look, it’s not gonna have any effect coming from you.”

“Was worth a try,” Trixie pouted as she turned her head to the side. “Fine then. If it really means that much to you… It was a long time ago.”

“In a kingdom far, far away?” Rainbow asked with a grin.

“No, it was in Canterlot,” Trixie responded with a raised eyebrow. “… Oh. That was a joke.”

“You really didn’t get it?” Rainbow Dash laughed.

“Silence!” Trixie ordered. “If you want the Great and Powerful Trixie to tell you this story, then you shall-”

“Okay, okay,” Rainbow said. “Go on. You were saying?”

“… The first time the Great and Powerful saw a magic show, it was a magician named Fantasia III. Perhaps you’ve heard of him?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Nah. Not a big fan of magic shows, to be honest.” A moment of silence passed. “Uh, except yours, of course!” Rainbow quickly corrected. “Yours are great! And, uh, powerful! Great and Powerful!”

“Gee, thanks,” Trixie said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, Fantasia was a magician of great renown. Not just for his performances, which were the best that Trixie has ever seen in her whole life. The way he could travel great distances in impossible times with his horn sealed, the way he could fly despite having no wings, the way he-”

“I get it. He’s great.” Rainbow Dash smirked as she noted the star-struck look in Trixie’s eyes. “So he was like, your inspiration or something?”

Trixie turned to Rainbow Dash and smiled. “Trixie bought a magic kit for beginners from him after the show. Of course, back then Trixie had no idea how he pulled off any of his tricks, but now-a-days she could sit through an entire performance and foresee where each trick would go before he performed it.” Trixie stuck her nose into the air as she beamed with pride at her own claim.

“I’m sure. So, what does this have to do with what you said before?”

“I’m getting to that.” Trixie cleared her throat and hesitated for a moment. “… As Trixie mentioned, Fantasia was known for more than just his magic shows. He was a hero to the ponies of Canterlot, using his abilities to assist the Royal Guard in capturing criminals and protecting us from the threats of the Everfree Forest.”

“Threats from the Everfree? In Canterlot?”

“The first recorded instance of creatures from the Everfree leaving the forest to hunt was around that time, and as such the watchtowers keeping an eye on the forest’s borders had not yet been set up. Fantasia was not only strong and brave, but he was kind and gentle, too. He allowed children up onto his stage and entertained them with his magic. He would brighten their days and make them forget whatever worries they had. And he would give them something to strive for. A role model to look up to.”

“Wow. Seems like a cool guy,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Indeed… That is why the Great and Powerful Trixie worshipped him so much.” Rainbow noticed the enthusiasm dying in Trixie’s voice, and saw the showmare’s ears flatten against the sides of her head as she frowned at the ground. “Just like every other filly my age, I was so lost in his amazing image that I revered him as though he were a god. Or something close, at least. Trixie thought he was flawless. Trixie thought that he was the perfect example to live up to.

“… Then one day, Trixie caught him walking around the town and wanted to show him how far she had come with her magic. It just so happened to be on the same day that Trixie was accepted into Celestia’s School on a scholarship program.”

“Wow. That sounds great!”

“It was,” Trixie said with a faint smile. “Trixie followed after Fantasia to show him that the little filly who bought a magic set from him two years ago was now entered into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. It was supposed to be a joyous day…”

Trixie suddenly stopped. After a few seconds where she didn’t continue her story, Rainbow Dash asked: “What happened?”

“… Trixie wasn’t sure what she was looking at at the time,” Trixie said in a solemn tone. “Fantasia was holding a child, a few years younger than I was by the looks of it, and bound in a rope and gagged as he was stepping into his cart. When Trixie asked what was going on, Fantasia attacked Trixie and knocked her out.”

“He assaulted you?!” Rainbow Dash asked, her wings flaring out as her face took on an expression of rage.

“When Trixie woke up, Fantasia was gone. The Royal Guard had found me unconscious in an alley and asked what had happened. At the time, I refused to answer any questions. I refused to believe that Fantasia, my hero, my whole reason for practising magic, could have committed such an act!

“And then, two days later, the headlines were everywhere. Fantasia had been found and arrested. One charge of foalnap, another charge of assault, and another charge of resisting arrest. At his trial, it was found that he needed money, fast. His cousin had got into some trouble and turned to him for help, but he couldn’t do anything without a lot of money. So he foalnapped a rich-looking family’s kid and sent them a ransom note. He attacked Trixie out of panic.”

“That still doesn’t make it right, what he did!” Rainbow huffed, crossing her forelegs as she glared angrily into the distance.

“That’s not what Trixie thought,” Trixie said. “At least at first. She even continued to lie about being assaulted, claiming it wasn’t him that did it, but he confessed that he had. For weeks, I was torn. I didn’t know what to think anymore. If it was anypony else, I would have testified without a moment’s hesitation. Just because he was my hero, a grand pony who had brought much joy to so many ponies, does that make his actions more excusable?”

“Of course it doesn’t,” Rainbow Dash said. “My first weekend at the Wonderbolts Academy, I thought that Spitfire was a reckless, irresponsible coach who just wanted results from her troops, regardless of the risks it brought. I was so angry, I was ready to walk out right there and then! Thankfully, she proved me wrong, but if she hadn’t done that…”

“Eventually, Trixie made her choice.” Trixie turned to Rainbow Dash with a sad look in her eyes. Rainbow picked up on this and casually wrapped her wing around the showmare once more. “Even though the trial was already over, Trixie walked up to the Royal Guard and told them that she would like to testify. It was then that I realised something. There are no heroes. There are no ‘grand ponies’ or ‘shining beacons’.

“Everypony we see as a role model is still a pony underneath. And like all ponies, they make mistakes, they are capable of giving into dark thoughts, and they are suspect to failure. We should definitely look for ponies to respect and take pages from their books, but we have to remember that they aren’t perfect, and you shouldn’t put all your faith in them. Otherwise, they’ll let you down when you realise they’re just like you underneath.”

Spike clutched onto his tail and stared at the ground as he listened to Trixie’s words.

“I guess it sucks when your foalhood hero lets you down like that, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Hey, you just kinda admitted you’re not perfect,” she added with a grin.

Trixie huffed. “Obviously, Trixie is the exception to the rule.” As Rainbow Dash chortled beside her, Trixie turned her attention towards the sky and sighed. “Perhaps we should launch our final firework to make sure they know where we are.”

“Yeah. It’s been long enough,” Rainbow said as she reached for the firework beside her. She stopped as she heard a rustling in the bushes ahead of her, which Trixie must have noticed this too as they both focussed their attentions on the bushes ahead of them.

“Is that them?” Trixie asked.

Spike sat up slowly expecting to see Twilight approaching the group with the rest of their friends and ready to run over to his big sister-figure so that he could just leave the terrible forest and go home. His ears, however, picked up a low growl and his spines picked up a familiar magical feeling in the air.

“Hey Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called out. “Applejack! Rarity?”

“Guys,” Spike said as he climbed to his feet.

The rustling stirred up once more. “We’re over here!” Trixie shouted into the distance. “Of course Trixie is okay, but Dashie looks like she needs a blanket!”

“What?! You’re the one turning blue out here!” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“Guys.”

“Trixie is always blue,” Trixie pointed out. “And your feathers are standing up. Doesn’t that mean you’re cold?”

“It doesn’t work that way. Feathers aren’t the same as fur.”

“TIMBERWOLVES!” Spike shouted at the top of his lungs, startling the two mares to the point of almost giving them heart attacks. On cue, three wolves made of wood with green, glowing eyes approached the small group, the one in front stopping to howl before all three charged forwards together.

“RUN!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she pushed Trixie aside, lighting up the firework in her hoof and aiming it at the approaching wolves. She launched the firework and turned to flee with Trixie and Spike, not stopping or turning back even as an explosion sounded behind her.

“Keep running!” Trixie shouted as she used her magic to pull Spike, who was slowing down beside her, towards her back. She hesitated for a moment before instead placing him onto Rainbow’s back. “Timberwolves are magical creatures that can rebuild them-”

“We know!” Rainbow Dash and Spike shouted in unison.

“We’ve dealt with these before!” Rainbow informed her.

“Oh really?! How did you defeat them?!”

Rainbow Dash thought back to what Applejack had told her of that time.

“Hey Applejack! How’d Spike defeat that massive timberwolf anyway?”

“Well, ah told him ta leave me there an’ save ‘imself, but that lil’ guy wouldn’t listen and stood his ground brave an’ strong!”

“And then?”

“Then… he picked up the nearest rock around an’ threw it right into that big timberwolf’s mouth!”

“… I think we should just focus on running,” Rainbow Dash ultimately decided as she caught up to Trixie’s side. “We’ll lose ‘em in the trees and send another signal to let Twilight and the others know where we are.”

“… Except that we’re out of fireworks,” Trixie told her. “You just fired our last one.”

“Oh. Oops.”

“We’ll get up high,” Trixie said, looking towards the cliff to her left. “Trixie can cast an illumination spell that will be visible from up there. But first, Trixie has to get these wolves off of her back.”

“Uh… just Trix- Just you?”

“You use your wings and fly Spike to safety,” Trixie said.

“What?! I’m not gonna leave you here on your own!”

“I’ll be fine!” Trixie shouted. “I’m the Great and Powerful Trixie! I won’t let a small pack of timberwolves be my downfall! And besides, you need to get Spike someplace safe.”

“What, you don’t think I can take care of myself?” Spike asked. “I’ve outran these things in the past, and I can do it again!”

Trixie gritted her teeth and shot a glare at the baby dragon to her right. “Think about it! How long can Dash run carrying you on her back? Especially considering how much energy she used rescuing us earlier!”

“And what makes you think you can outrun them any longer than her?!”

“Because I am the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Meaning what?! You’ll bluff your way out of this?!”

“You watch your mouth, young reptile! The Great and Powerful Trixie is trying to tolerate you for Dash’s sake, but if you continue to be so annoying-”

“I’m annoying?! How can you say that when you have to hear yourself talking all the time?!”

“Guys! Knock it off!” Rainbow Dash shouted, jumping slightly to bump Spike into the air and shooting a glare towards Trixie. “We kinda have an emergency here! We can’t afford to be arguing right now!”

“Tell it to him!”
“Tell it to her!”

“I SAID KNOCK IT OFF!” Rainbow Dash screamed, silencing and startling both of her companions as they continued to move quickly through the forest. “… This is just like what happened with Gilda,” Rainbow muttered to herself.

“What was that?” Trixie asked, leaning closer to hear her better.

“Nothing,” Rainbow said quickly, shaking her head. “Anyway, I can’t just leave you out here on your own like that! It’s too risky!”

“Actually, you won’t be leaving Trixie all alone,” Trixie told her. Rainbow Dash remained silent as she listened. “To lose them, we must head into the thick foliage around us. But it’s dangerous to be running blindly through something like that. That’s where being a Pegasus works to your advantage, and mine too.”

“You want me to… to fly above and lead the way with my bird’s eye view.”

“Yes,” Trixie said with a nod. “Trixie will follow your rainbow trail to safely navigate the forest, hopefully leaving the timberwolves behind in the dust.”

“But can you keep up with something like that? I mean, my rainbow trail disappears pretty quick. You’d have to be a pretty fast thinker to follow after it.”

“Trixie is a fast thinker,” Trixie said with a grin. “It’s one of the many skills necessary for performing before a crowd.”

“… Alright, but if you find yourself in trouble, you’d better yell, and I’ll be there to save you in less than a second!” Trixie agreed to this term by way of nodding, and leaned forward to voice her confirmation. Mistaking Trixie’s intention, Rainbow Dash also leaned forward to meet her lips. She could hear Spike groaning above her and quickly parted from the kiss, flapping her wings to take off into the air.

As Rainbow Dash turned to fly just above the dense forest to her side, Trixie also turned to pursue the rainbow that was created as a result. As she followed the rainbow trail, twisting and turning through the thick trees and jumping over the thorny bushes and puddles of mud, she could hear the sounds of the wolves giving chase growing quieter and quieter.

Sparing a glance over her shoulder, Trixie smiled as she confirmed that the wolves were indeed losing her. She turned her attention back towards the rainbow trail, only to find it dimming in her sights. “What?” Trixie closed her eyes for a brief second and reopened them. This time, the trail wavered and distorted. “Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine! Why?!” she heard Rainbow Dash call back.

“What’s going on?” Trixie asked herself quietly, before suddenly succumbing to a long, drawn-out yawn. “Oh no… I’m getting tired…” Trixie looked back up to the sky, only to find that the rainbow had split into two. She could hear a soothing sound blowing in the wind, like a lullaby, and felt her eyes growing heavier and heavier.

Then they snapped wide open as she felt a sharp pain run through her body. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Trixie found herself on her haunches before a large, thick tree trunk. And behind her, she could hear the faint sounds of growling encroaching on her from several directions.

“RAI-”

“Sit.” Trixie gasped and turned around. To her bewilderment, all seven timberwolves around her were sitting down, though they were all still growling at her, too. “To think, I was expecting you to show up on that stage back in Ponyville, yet you decided to play hooky and play in the forest. You’ve certainly changed a lot since we last met.”

From behind the trees in the distance, a white Unicorn mare appeared, her flowing red mane and tail blowing in the wind and a long metal flute held close to her mouth in a blue magical aura. “And you are?” Trixie asked, rising to her hooves and dusting herself off.

“Really? No show of gratitude for saving you just now?” Trixie opened her mouth to speak. “No, no need. You weren’t exactly known for your social etiquette back in school anyway. Like that time you stood me up during our final year face-off.”

“… Final year… Wait a minute, Trixie remembers you now!” The white mare grinned as Trixie glared her down, sparks from both mares’ eyes firing towards the other and meeting in-between them as a furious invisible battle raged between them. “… Well, not exactly. What was your name again?”

The mare frowned, and then bared her teeth in anger. “It’s Melody,” she told Trixie. “After I was your rival for several years, you could at least remember my name!”

“Rival? You just approached Trixie one day and challenged her. Trixie didn’t even know you until that day.”

“I was competing with you our entire school life!” Melody shouted. “We battled each other onstage so many times! Your magic versus my music!”

“… That was you?!” Melody nodded. “Huh. Trixie just assumed she was beating a bunch of wanabes from the music club. She never really took the time to remember the faces of those she had beaten, or their names for that matter.”

“A wannabe, am I? Well, maybe back then, but I’ve studied and improved a lot since I graduated. Which is more than I can say for you. Tell me, how has your magic performance been this last year?”

Trixie’s glare returned, more intense than before. “Oh? You think that your little flute-playing can ever be a match for the Great and Powerful Trixie’s magic?”

“See for yourself.” Melody brought the flute to her lips and blew into it, working her forehooves along the side to produce a strange yet beautiful melody. The wolves stopped growling and turned their attention towards the musician, getting up and walking towards her, before kneeling at her hooves and bowing their heads. She stopped her playing and shot a smug grin at the stunned showmare. “My charming technique from back then was incomplete, but as you can see now, I have finally mastered it.”

“Hypnotism through music,” Trixie noted. “That art is forbidden for ponies not using it under Royal supervision.”

“Sneaking into the Royal archives is also forbidden, but I won’t tell if you don’t,” Melody said. “In any case, I am here, Trixie Lulamoon, to issue a challenge. The contest that should have been held all those years ago… We are going to have it now.”

“A contest? If you just want to embarrass yourself, there’s a pleasant pink pony who’d be more than happy to spray you with cake batter back in town,” Trixie said with a smirk.

“I think I’ll pass. I’d much rather beat you in a not-so-friendly challenge in front of an entire crowd of ponies. The challenge will be two days from now. I’ve taken the liberty of preparing fliers to pass out around town, so you’ll get the details tomorrow.”

“And let’s just say for argument’s sake that Trixie declines your challenge,” Trixie said, “What then?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Melody smiled and brought her flute to her lips once more, playing the same tune as moments ago. This time, the wolves turned their attention to Trixie and began advancing slowly, growling and snarling her way. “If you refuse to co-operate, then the town of Ponyville will be celebrating Nightmare Night early.”

Trixie gulped and backed slowly away as the pack of timberwolves advanced closer and closer towards her. “Eheheh… N-Nice doggies… Y-You know, Trixie thinks she might know where you can find some tasty ursa meat around he-”

The lead timberwolf howled and started to charge towards Trixie, causing her to scream and fire her magic towards it. With a grin, Melody prepared a tune to halt the timberwolves as Trixie’s attack blasted the leader of the pack backwards. However, before she could start playing, a rainbow blur entered the fray and surrounded Trixie. When it was gone, so was the showmare.

“… Well, I think she got the idea,” Melody said as she played a tune to force the charmed wolves to take a sudden nap. “She’ll either co-operate, or the blood of an entire town will be on her hooves.” With a cheerful smile and a spring in her step, Melody turned around and began to navigate her way out of the dark forest.

“ARE YOU OKAY?!” Rainbow Dash asked as she finally stopped dragging Trixie along the forest’s floor, too tired to pick her up any higher as they fled from the pack of wolves, and instead pinned Trixie to the ground so that she could examine her for any injuries. “I told you it was too risky! You could’ve been eaten! If Spike hadn’t pointed out you stopped following me, I wouldn’t have known!”

“T-Trixie is fine, though!” Trixie assured Rainbow Dash as she tried to push the panicking mare off of her. “Really, Trixie’s fi-”

“Stop saying that!” Rainbow Dash shouted suddenly, silencing Trixie. Tears dropped onto Trixie’s chest as Rainbow exhaled heavy breaths. “You’re always saying that you’re fine, and maybe you are by your books. But you could’ve been eaten just now. Those timberwolves were just one step away from having you for dinner. Do you think I’m fine seeing something like that happen?!”

“Uh… I-I guess not…”

“This isn’t about whether you’re okay with risking your life in crazy situations like this! I get it, you’re brave, and you’re tough! But… But what about the ponies around you? What about those who don’t want to see you getting hurt, or putting yourself in danger?”

Trixie managed to free a foreleg and brought it up to the back of her neck, scratching it nervously as she tried to avoid eye contact with the Pegasus above her. “Well, Trixie’s safety has never been a concern for others, so-” Trixie was cut off by a sudden, tight hug from Rainbow Dash.

“You moron… Stop thinking like that. If something happened to you, I would have never forgiven myself… and you can bet your flank the others would have been sad, too…”

Trixie didn’t say anything. Instead, she simply rolled her head to the side and gave a curios glance to the other member of their small group. “… I don’t like you,” Spike reminded Trixie, earning a nod from the showmare, “But you’re still a pony… and Twilight says that we should never wish bad things on anypony.”

“Twilight says?” Trixie asked.

“… I believe it, too,” Spike added. “I’m not just blindly following Twilight’s example. I don’t like you one bit, but I would never wish for you to… y’know.”

Trixie nodded. “For what it’s worth, when Trixie originally planned to show up here and defeat Twilight Sparkle, she only intended to have Twilight make a new stage for her.”

“Whatever,” was all that Spike said as he turned around. “TWILIGHT!”

“SPIKE!” Twilight Sparkle jumped out of the bushes and ran towards her young assistant, who also ran just as quickly towards her. “Spike, you’re safe!”

“So are Dashie and Trixie!” Pinkie Pie pointed out as she hopped out from behind the bushes after Twilight, the rest of the search party joining her. They stopped as they took note of the positions that the two mares were in. Namely, one on top of the other, pinning her down and pressing their bodies close together. “… Dashie! What are you doing?! There’s a child present!”

Rainbow and Trixie’s faces turned red as they both simultaneously realised what the pink mare was misunderstanding about their situation. “No! It’s not like that!” Rainbow tried to explain, but was cut off by Rarity.

“I realise that you must have been happy to find Trixie alive, but honestly, do try to control yourselves a little bit.” Rarity gagged as she lifted a hoof and examined it, finding dirt and leaves attached to the base. “Doing such things in such a filthy forest.”

“Ye’re supposed ta be settin’ a good example fer the lil’ ‘un here,” Applejack said as she approached Twilight and Spike, placing a hoof on the latter’s head.

“We weren’t doing anything!” Rainbow Dash shouted, jumping off of Trixie and turning away from her friends with a pout. She heard giggling behind her and turned back to see all of her friends, minus Spike and Trixie, laughing together.

“We’re jus’ teasin’,” Applejack explained. “No need ta get yer feathers in a mess.”

“Um, c-can we maybe be going now?” Fluttershy asked, her smile fading as a howl echoed through the dense forest trees.

“T-That’s probably a good idea,” Twilight said, using her magic to lift Spike onto his back. As soon as he was seated, the baby dragon stretched his arms and yawned, before falling onto his front and nestling into Twilight’s fur, his eyes closing as he felt a peaceful slumber embrace him.

Trixie turned to Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow. “… What?” Rainbow asked, seeing Trixie’s strange look. The showmare motioned her head towards Spike and Twilight. “What?” Rainbow repeated. Trixie sighed and approached Rainbow Dash, wrapping a foreleg around her back. Rainbow understood now what Trixie was asking, and she quickly pushed the showmare back. “No. I’m not carrying you out of here.”

Trixie pouted and huffed as she walked away from Rainbow Dash, following after their friends through the dark forest. “Stingy.”

“I’m just tired,” Rainbow Dash said. “Though, even if I weren’t, I wouldn’t carry you on my back anyway. No way, no how.” Rainbow Dash picked up her pace to catch up to Trixie, and then remained silent for a few moments as she tried to find the right words to say what was on her mind. “… Um, listen, about before-”

“Trixie gets it,” Trixie said, silencing Rainbow Dash before she could really get started. “Trixie will… try to consider your feelings the next time she has a brilliant idea.”

“Not that,” Rainbow said, surprising the showmare. “It’s just that, you really did scare me, y’know? By the way, don’t you dare tell anypony that.”

“Well, Trixie shared kind of a big secret with you earlier, so Trixie won’t tell if you don’t.”

Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded. “Anyway, I was just kinda wondering… I know you were planning to leave tomorrow to perform elsewhere, but… how about you stay for a bit? At least an extra day. You can spend the night round mine tonight.”

Trixie couldn’t help but smile, and feel her heart rate skyrocket. Rainbow Dash wanted her to stay so badly. The though-as-nails Pegasus was actually being cute with the way she practically pleaded for Trixie to stay an extra night, and that alone was reason enough for Trixie to say ‘yes’. Of course, there was another reason that she had to stay. Another two days, at least, she couldn’t afford to leave Ponyville.

“Very well then, Trixie shall stay,” Trixie said. She felt Rainbow Dash’s wing wrap around her body and leaned over to rest her head against Rainbow’s shoulder. “But in return… you have to make sure it’s worth it.”

“I can think of something,” Rainbow Dash said with a sly grin, running the tips of her wings along Trixie’s side slowly and sensually. “You know, you’re not the only pony who knows how to put on a show.”

Trixie shuddered as she felt Rainbow’s breath in her ear, and the tips of Rainbow’s wings brushing against her side, returning Rainbow Dash’s grin and raising her head up to lick Rainbow Dash’s cheek, a certain trick she found received positive feedback from the frisky Pegasus. ‘Forget Melody for now. The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to enjoy herself tonight.’

‘Gross,’ Spike thought to himself with a shudder as he happened to peek an eye open at just the wrong time, quickly shutting his eye again and running images of certain overly dramatic fashion designer through his mind in the hopes of erasing the horror of what he had just witnessed.

Author's Note

After a loooooooooong hiatus during NaPoWriMo (had lotsa fun writing that, too! :D), TrixDash is BACK! And ready to kick some TwiDash ARSE!

*ahem* Nothing against TwiDash. It's just that everypony seems to bring it up whenever I mention TrixDash. No mention of Twixie. I guess it's just natural for Trixie to have both the egghead and the tomboy.

Anywhom! I know some of you are probably thinking "Oh great, villain OC that's gonna have her own long and complex backstory before turning out to be NMM or Sombra or some shit!". Well, I can assure you, Melody will only be featured in one more chapter, and then she is done (possibly referenced in more, but that's it). She is just a character I've had in my head for so long now and I wanted to include her, and I managed to come up with a scenario that fits the story where she can play the role of the bad guy. Woohoo!

Now, I'm sorry to say that you may have to wait just a teeeeeensy bit longer for the next chapter, as there is a lengthy Trixie oneshot I am working on (would have been writing it over September if not for NaPoWriMo), and I would like to get it out before the end of October. That's not to say I won't be working on TrixDash at all, but with Uni also starting up (first lecture tomorrow), I can't guarantee anything in terms of update speeds.

But, here's a lil' teaser for all of you out there: if you're a fan of RariJack, you'll probably (hopefully) like the next chapter ;)

'Til then, there are plenty of other great writers out there to keep you entertained! ^_^

11 - Double-Date With RariJack!

Rainbow Dash wasn’t the best at telling when somepony was trouble – she would be the first to admit that about herself. Usually by the time she would notice that somepony was having some sort of problem, it would be far too late and helping them would become a major difficulty.

But when the loudest and proudest pony she knew was staring at her bowl of oatmeal in complete silence for fifteen minutes and not reacting immediately to her ‘glorious mane’ falling into the bowl, even Rainbow Dash could tell that something was up.

Unfortunately, talking to ponies about their problems wasn’t Rainbow’s department. That was more the type of thing that Applejack or Twilight would do. But what of her other friends? Rainbow Dash mulled it over.

‘I guess Fluttershy would try to ask what’s up, but then back down when Trixie gives her the evil eye. Pinkie Pie would… do something crazy. Rarity’d take her to the spa…’ Whilst Rainbow Dash wasn’t particularly interested in visiting the spa, an idea crossed her mind.

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash called out. Trixie only nodded her head in response. “You wanna go do something? Like bowling, or checking out my new moves or something?”

“Sounds good,” Trixie said flatly. Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of Trixie’s eyes, still receiving no response. She then tried to clap her forehooves together next to Trixie’s ear. This seemed to snap the showmare out of it as she jumped with a start. “W-What?!”

“What’s with you?” Rainbow asked in a slightly-annoyed tone.

“Nothing,” Trixie answered quickly, using her magic to lift her spoon out of her bowl. “Why would think that something’s wrong with Trixie?”

“‘Cause you’re about to eat your hair?” Trixie stopped the spoon just short of her mouth and examined it, finding that her mane was mixed with the oatmeal on it. “C’mon, what’s up?”

“It’s nothing,” Trixie repeated, placing the spoon down and gagging as she brought a napkin up to her mane. “Trixie is merely still tired after last night’s activities, that is all.”

“… Well, I guess we did kinda go to sleep at like three in the morning,” Rainbow Dash admitted with a sly grin.

“Trixie will have to borrow your shower in a few minutes,” Trixie said as she picked up her spoon again and resumed eating her breakfast.

“Yeah, sure. Just don’t take too long. The bowling alley has a special offer if you visit in the morning.”

“Bowling alley?” Trixie asked with a confused look.

“I just asked if you wanted to do something later, like bowling. You said yeah.”

“Oh, yes! Of course.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes as she watched Trixie picking up the pace and averting her eyes as she continued to eat. ‘She’s hiding something. I just know it.’

“The Great and Powerful Trixie shall make use of your shower now, then,” Trixie announced as she placed her finished bowl down onto Rainbow’s table.

“Hm? Ah, sure.” Trixie walked past Rainbow Dash and into the direction of Rainbow’s bathroom, leaving the blue Pegasus on her own as she sighed and resumed her own breakfast. ‘Well, maybe she is just tired. A little fun today should snap her out of it.’

After her shower, Trixie followed Rainbow Dash out of her cloud house and, after some initial refusal, finally gave in and allowed Rainbow Dash to carry her to the ground as opposed to ‘simply’ giving Trixie a lift on her back.

When they had touched down, Trixie decided that they needed to make some kind of arrangement for that. “Your house is too high in the first place,” Trixie argued. “It’s a safety hazard.”

“Only if you don’t have wings,” Rainbow Dash countered. “Or if you don’t use a cloud-walking spell.”

“What if the spell suddenly wears off because Trixie spends too long up there?” Trixie asked. “It’s dangerous. You need to bring it lower.”

“Do you realise how hard it is to move a cloud that big?”

“Based on its size and its structure, about ten? Eight if the Pegasi are strong enough.”

“Six, actually,” Rainbow corrected with a proud grin. “The Pegasi in this town are pretty strong. Anyway, what’ve you got against me flyin’ ya down? Does the Great and Powerful Trixie have stage fright?”

“Perhaps the Great and Powerful Trixie simply doesn’t want her mane to become roughed up,” Trixie returned. “If you really don’t want Trixie to ride on your back, then we could always purchase a chariot and-”

“I’m not pulling you around on a chariot,” Rainbow Dash immediately told her in a flat tone. “No. Way.”

Trixie huffed and turned her head. “You’re impossible.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. ‘Besides, chariots don’t come cheap y’know? Not the good ones, at least.’ Rainbow noticed Trixie staring off into space as she continued walking beside her. She stretched out a wing to poke Trixie’s side, exacting a start from the mare.

“Are we there yet?” Trixie asked, taking a breath to calm down.

“Just a few streets down,” Rainbow told her. “So, you any good at bowling?”

A smile crossed Trixie’s face. “Once, the Great and Powerful Trixie performed in a grand tournament, one held exclusively for nobles. They had invited Trixie as a special VIP after witnessing her spectacular skill and grace.”

“Did you win?” Rainbow asked. Trixie’s smile fell and she simply continued to walk, her pace picking up a little bit. “You lost, didn’t you?”

“The game was rigged from the start!” Trixie shouted. “Those filthy nobles wouldn’t be able to live if they had lost to a pony whose name held no value, so they made sure that Trixie finished last.”

“Uh-huh.” Rainbow nodded her head, more out of obligation than actually believing the showmare’s story. She picked up her pace to match Trixie’s and noticed eyes staring into nothing again as she grew quiet. Before she could think of something else to say, a voice called out to the two of them.

“Why if it isn’t Ponyville’s newest couple of sweethearts.” Rainbow’s ears pinned back against the sides of her head and she frowned as she stopped and turned to the source of the voice: Rarity. “Out for a morning stroll together? Oh, you two are just so darling together!”

“Don’t mind her,” Applejack said as she stopped beside Rarity, tipping her hat to Trixie. “Mornin’ you two. Ye’re out a lil’ early. Dash usually sleeps in ‘til noon when she’s not workin’.”

“Rainbow Dash suggested that we go bowling,” Trixie said.

“Bowlin’?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

“And Trixie apparently agreed to it,” Trixie continued.

“‘Apparently’?” Rarity asked. “Well, in any case, it’s nice that we happened to bump into each other this morning.”

“Still doesn’t explain why ye’re out an’ about this early,” Applejack said.

“Dash said that the bowling alley has a discount if you visit in the morning,” Trixie explained.

“Applejack, come now,” Rarity said, leaning against Applejack’s neck and nuzzling it gently. “Love means you make compromises. You recall how many times I cut down my beauty sleep on account of your own schedule.”

“Yet ya still won’t lemme into our room ‘til ah wash mah hooves to the point they sparkle,” Applejack deadpanned.

“In any case, young love does not sleep in,” Rarity explained with a blissful smile directed at Trixie and Rainbow Dash. “Oh, how I wish I could relive the early days of our own love. All the dates, the late-night talks, the excitement that rushed through my body every time we kissed-”

“Okay, we get it!” Rainbow Dash shouted, gagging and shuddering at the romantic notions coming from the Unicorn’s mouth. “We’re not quite as lame as you two, though. We don’t do cheesy romance, ain’t that right?”

Trixie replied by leaning her head against Rainbow’s shoulder and moving her body closer, causing the Pegasus to blush as her wings slowly opened up. “But Dashie, Trixie was hoping that we could spend some time by the lakeside and watch some fireworks together later tonight.”

Rarity giggled at the display, whilst Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a competitive grin. “Oh, you think we’re ‘lame’, do ya?”

“… Maybe,” Rainbow said as she nudged Trixie away. The showmare ended her act as she paid Applejack some attention. “What of it?”

“Well then, ah’d say this calls for a lil’ friendly competition.”

“What’d you have in mind?” Rainbow asked, returning the grin as a fire sparked in her eyes.

“You two’re goin’ bowlin’, right? How ‘bout we join ya an’ see which couple does the best?”

Rarity gasped and clapped her forehooves together in excitement. “A double-date! Oh, this is simply wonderful! We haven’t double-dated since that time with your brother and Cheerilee!” Rarity leaned forward and whispered, “And she was such a stick in the mud the entire time, saying it was too embarrassing with her brother there.”

“Well excuse me fer feelin’ uncomfortable on a date with mah brother an’ Apple Bloom’s teacher there!” Applejack turned back to Rainbow Dash. “So how ‘bout it? You game?”

Rainbow Dash raised her hoof and spit into, Applejack doing the same moments after. They bumped their spit-covered hooves together. Rarity and Trixie cringed and shook their heads at the expectant looks that the two gave them.

“Are they always this…” Trixie struggled to find the correct word.

“Uncouth?” Rarity suggested. “They have their moments.” Rarity shot a glare towards Applejack. “I expect you’ll be washing that hoof before putting it anywhere near me.”

Applejack’s ears drooped as she muttered, “Yes, ma’am.”

Rainbow Dash made a whipping motion with her tail, before turning to Trixie and being caught off guard by her glare. “The same goes for you,” Trixie said. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will not have something so disgusting tarnishing her freshly-washed coat.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow muttered. The four walked together down the road, heading through the streets of Ponyville as a group. “Didn’t mind it last night,” Rainbow added in a quiet voice.

“What was that?” Applejack asked.

“Nothing!” Trixie insisted, her face red as she shot a glare at Rainbow Dash, who was whistling innocently beside her. “She is simply trying to incur Trixie’s wrath. Just keep moving.”

At the bowling alley, things were starting to heat up in lane seven as the battle between two teams began. Team ‘TrixDash’, which consisted of Trixie and Rainbow Dash, and took seven minutes to form due to the two arguing over whose name would be first, were up against team ‘RariJack’, consisting of Rarity and Applejack.

The rules were set. One full game, where the two scores of each pony in a team were added together, and the losing team would have to do what the winning team told them to. The only reason that Rarity agreed to this term was because she was confident in Applejack’s strength – having been carried by her many times before across puddles and small streams – but she realised her mistake when Rainbow Dash stepped up to start things off: bowling was a game of not just strength, but precision and patience.

Rainbow Dash lay her ball down and crouched down at the red line at the end of the lane, closing one eye and grinning as she determined the perfect angle for a strike. “Heh. I got this.” Rainbow Dash picked up her ball and bowled it down the lane, turning around and sticking her tongue out at the competition.

“Maybe you should keep your eye on the ball,” Trixie suggested. “That won’t be a strike.”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash asked as she turned around, catching her ball knocking over all but the three rightmost pins. “No way!”

“There’s more ta bowlin’ than jus’ getting’ the trajectory,” Applejack told Rainbow Dash. “Ya gotta use the right weight ball, too.”

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. She was worried that Rainbow Dash, being a weather pony – a job that required accuracy, precision, and a keen eye – would be a force to be reckoned with. But with the extra variable of the balls weight, plus the added factor that they were playing a grounded sport, she felt at ease once more.

“Man, this sucks,” Rainbow complained as she looked at the balls available to her. “How do I know which weight is right?”

“Trial and error,” Trixie told her. “Unless you can run all of the calculations off the top of your head, but Trixie suspects you’re not that bright,” she added in a teasing tone.

“Ugh. Now I remember why I haven’t done this more often.” Rainbow Dash picked out a ball at random and approached the lane, sweat dripping down her head as she wondered how much spin she should put on her ball.

“You done much bowlin’ before?” Applejack asked Trixie. “Ah played a bit back in school, but now-a-days ah’ve got too much goin’ on down at the farm.”

“The bowling alleys in Canterlot were far too expensive for Trixie to enter,” Trixie told them. “Not only did you have to admission fees, but you were required to supply your own ball and wear some fancy horseshoes at all times.”

“But you’re a travelling pony, aren’t you?” Rarity asked. “Have you not visited any alleys on your journeys?”

“There was one time,” Trixie said. Rarity nodded her head, requesting that she go on. “There were a pair of con artists, pretending to be amateurs and challenging ponies to games with money on the line. Then they showed their true colours and made off with all the bits.”

“That’s low,” Applejack commented, a disgusted look on her face.

“Now, this was back when Trixie had first started travelling. Her old roommate had a gig in Manechester and so Trixie decided to check it out. The two of us played the guys at their own game and Trixie made a bet they couldn’t refuse.”

“So ya pretended ta play bad at first, then trounced ‘em teach ‘em a lesson?” Applejack asked.

“Not quite,” Trixie replied. “Keep in mind that Trixie had never bowled before in her life. Instead, Trixie challenged only one of them, and her partner Scratch used her knowledge of sound and vibrations to… give Trixie an edge.”

“You mean you cheated?” Rarity asked.

“It wasn’t the score that mattered in that game,” Trixie said. “It was cornering them into a frightening spot. All Trixie had to do was act confident and merciless as she continued to score strike and strike, and by the end of the game the two would think twice before swindling ponies again. And it worked like a charm, too.”

“What happened to the two after they lost?” Applejack asked.

“They split, no pun intended,” Trixie answered. “As for the money, Scratch took it to pay back all of their victims. It was pretty fun.”

“But basically,” Rainbow Dash said as she joined the four, having returned from scoring a spare, “You’re still a total newb at this game?”

“A newb flowing with natural talent,” Trixie corrected, leaning over to kiss Rainbow Dash on the cheek, catching the Pegasus by surprise.

“W-What was-”

“If you get a strike next time,” Trixie whispered into Rainbow’s ear, “The next one’ll be on the lips.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened, and her blood started to flow faster. Trixie grinned, seeing her motivational tactic working well.

“Ah guess ah’m up then,” Applejack said as she rose from her seat. “Lemme show ya how it’s done,” she boasted to Rainbow Dash.

“I just hope your sister didn’t get her skills from you,” Rainbow retorted. She had heard from Scootaloo how Apple Bloom’s attempts at earning a bowling Cutie Mark had gone, and quite frankly part of her would like to have seen it for herself.

“I’m afraid you have no chance here, you two,” Rarity told her two opponents. “I massage Applejack’s muscles every day, and quite frankly, I don’t think either of you can match up.”

“Don’t tell ‘em that!” Applejack shouted as she picked up her ball, carrying it towards the red line with seemingly no trouble at all.

“Whilst her muscles may be impressive-” Trixie began, earning a nudge from Rainbow Dash. “Well they are! Don’t get jealous now, Dashie.”

“I’m not jealous,” Rainbow told her. “I just don’t think you need to go checkin’ out other mares when you’ve already got me. Especially not my friends.”

“Trixie was merely making an observation,” Trixie said. “Anyway, Trixie was about to explain that magical strength trumps physical strength. And as you cannot see magic with the naked eye, you cannot make any assumptions until you’ve seen Trixie’s skills for yourself.”

“Darn it!” The three turned to see Applejack blushing at her outburst. Behind the farmer, a lone pin was standing at the end of the lane, in the left-hoof corner.

“Ooh! Too bad,” Rainbow Dash taunted, earning a scowl from Applejack.

“Not to worry, Applejack,” Rarity encouraged. “It’s still early. We can still win this.”

Trixie leaned back into her seat as she watched Applejack step up to the line and wait for the mechanism at the end of the lane to lift back up. ‘Here I am taking it easy when I should be preparing for my battle against Melody. The problem lies in Melody’s musical capabilities. Sound is a dangerous force, because it can make the listener feel things they’ve never felt before.’

“Trixie,” Rainbow Dash called out.

Trixie nodded her head and put a hoof to her chin. “Trixie?” Rarity asked. Trixie gasped as she remembered where she was and rose her head to find the other three looking at her. “Is something wrong?”

“Hm? Oh, not at all!” Trixie quickly rose to her hooves and approached the lane, seeing that her turn had come up. “Trixie was merely preparing herself, that’s all.”

“Well, time ta show us what ya got,” Applejack said with a smile as she sat down beside Rarity, watching as Trixie picked up a ball with her magic and approached the lane.

“… Hey, you guys?” Rainbow Dash asked in a hushed voice as she leaned forwards.

‘Let’s see,’ Trixie thought as she stopped at the red line. ‘Based on the minimal air resistance in here and the weight of ball, and the amount of spin I intend to put on, then the optimal angle should be…’ Trixie licked her lips and bowled the ball, watching as it curved towards the centre… and then continued to curve into the gutter. ‘… Right. The floor itself has special properties. This is bad.’

“Trixie’s been actin’ weird?” Applejack asked, receiving a nod from Rainbow Dash. “In what way?”

“She’s been all quiet,” Rainbow told her.

“that is weird,” Rarity agreed.

“And she keeps staring at nothing, like she’s thinking about something really hard.”

“What did she say when ya asked her?” Applejack asked.

“She said there’s nothing wrong.”

“… An’ ya jus’ left it at that?” Applejack asked. “Ya didn’t point out her behaviour or press her until she spoke?”

“I’m not good at stuff like talking about problems,” Rainbow Dash said. “And besides, she just said she was tired, so I figured taking her out to do something fun would wake her up, but…”

“Maybe she doesn’t mean that she’s tired then,” Rarity suggested. “Maybe she’s exhausted, but not in the sense that she wants to sleep.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, think about what she went through last night,” Rarity told her. “Perhaps what she needs isn’t sleep or an activity to wake her up. A nice, refreshing visit to the spa should work simply wonders!”

“I was afraid you would suggest that,” Rainbow said with a sigh, “But I guess it’s worth a shot… Maybe you’re right. Maybe she just needs to unwind. But I don’t really-”

“Don’t worry,” Rarity said, sensing Rainbow’s concerns. “We’ll accompany you.”

“We will?” Applejack asked.

“Of course,” Rarity answered. “This double-date isn’t over just yet. And besides, the spa is the perfect place for us to get to know her better, don’t you think?”

“Well, that could have gone better,” Trixie said as she approached the group, who immediately pulled away from their huddle and looked up at the scoreboard.

“Eight?” Rainbow asked, giving Trixie a sly grin. “What happened to ‘newb with natural talent’?”

“She’s still here,” Trixie said as she took her seat. “Remember: trial and error.”

“Ye’re up, Rarity,” Applejack said. “G’luck.”

“I will do my best,” Rarity said as she got up, turning around and walking away from the lane. The group watched in confusion as Rarity approached the reception desk, exchanging some words with the pony on the other side. The pony gave her something. It was a special sock for her to wear over her hoof, with a certain emblem on it in the shape of a diamond.

Rarity came back to the group, a grin on her face as she approached the balls. “Oh, by the way, I came here a a lot as a filly with my father,” Rarity said as she examined the balls one at a time, finally settling on one in particular.

“She has her own bowling guard,” Trixie pointed out, receiving a nod from an equally-surprised Rainbow Dash.

“Good luck!” a voice called out two lanes over. The four mares turned to see two mares – one a pik Unicorn, the other a white Pegasus – and one pink Earth Pony filly standing two lanes over, each one wearing a sock similar to Rarity’s.

“Oh, they’re here too!” Rarity waved back to the purple mare waving towards her.

“Amethyst Star, Diamond Rose, and Diamond Tiara?” Applejack asked as she looked over at the group.

“She has her own team,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. Trixie nodded.

Rarity stepped up to the red line. “Go, go, Diamond Cutters, STRIKE!” her teammates chanted from two lanes over as Rarity gauged the angle, licked her lips, and bowled the ball into a graceful strike.

Flicking her mane she turned around, Rarity walked back towards her stunned friends and took a seat besides Applejack. “Rainbow Dash, I do believe that you are up next.”

Applejack grinned and wrapped her foreleg around Rarity. “Well, ah can’t say that didn’t take me by surprise.” Applejack put her hoof underneath Rarity’s chin and leaned in to kiss her. As she pulled back, she said, “But ah’m likin’ this new side of ya.”

“My father always wanted a colt,” Rarity explained. “Unfortunately for him, this was the one sport I was willing partake in, as it didn’t involve my coat becoming filthy.”

“I think we might be in trouble,” Rainbow Dash said as she unsteadily rose to her hooves.

“Now now, do try to relax,” Rarity said. “Oh, Trixie. How do you feel about paying a visit to our local spa after our match?”

“The spa?” Trixie asked, putting a hoof to her chin. “… Well, Trixie already took a shower this morning, but I suppose that a visit to the spa is always a fine way to unwind.”

“Then it’s settled,” Rarity declared as she leaned against Applejack.

Rainbow Dash groaned but gave in as she approached the lane. ‘This is totally backfiring on me,’ she thought to herself as she grabbed a ball at random, dropping it almost immediately beside her hoof and jumping back with a start. She heard a giggle behind her, and turned around to find Trixie stifling her laughter. ‘… Well, maybe it’s not too bad.’

Picking up the ball again, Rainbow approached the lane and remembered Trixie’s little motivational offer for scoring a strike.

“Somehow, we ended up tying,” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself. She was sitting inside one of the Ponyville Spa’s many bathtubs with Applejack, staring down at the warm water that smelled like apple cider with a frown on her face. ‘This isn’t actually so bad, but I can’t let them know I think that.’

“You still on ‘bout that?” Applejack asked, shifting her hoof to splash some water into Rainbow’s face. Rainbow Dash splashed back, and the two were interrupted by a loud cough Aloe, one of the spa managers who was busy tending to Trixie’s hooves off to the side. Her sister Lotus was tending to Rarity’s mane beside Trixie.

“Oops.” Rainbow Dash smiled sheepishly as she rested her back against the side of the bathtub. “Eheheh… Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Honestly,” Rarity said, “No matter how many times I bring her here, Applejack still has to act like such a foal. She can’t sit still for three minutes.”

“Well ‘scuse me fer wantin’ ta have a lil’ fun as opposed ta jus’ sittin’ ‘round, soakin’ in water while y’all get yer coat an’ mane all prettied up.”

“There are plenty of ways to have fun,” Rarity told her.

“Ah’m not much into all that gossip stuff,” Applejack said. “Now back at the farm, when Apple Bloom an’ ah took our baths together and we had our lil’ splash fights, that was fun!”

“Bathtime is not supposed to be playtime,” Rarity said. “I expect such behaviour from Sweetie Belle, not from a grown mare like you.”

“But Rarity,” Applejack said with a grin, “We ‘play’ all the time in our tub back home.”

Rarity’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets and she blushed intensely. “L-Let’s change the subject!”

“Why?” Trixie asked. “Trixie thought you loved talking about gossip.”

“Well, I know much better gossip!” Rarity said. “Such as the time that Applejack joined me for a dinner with Fancypants, and she confused the water that she was supposed to wash her hooves in with ‘free drinking water’.”

Trixie, and even Rainbow Dash, both chuckled at that, whilst Applejack furrowed her brow at Rarity. “Well how ‘bout the time y’all showed up for mah cousin’s rodeo in that froufrou getup of yours an’ complained when it got all dirty?”

“Nopony told me that we would be sitting at the front, in the splash zone!” Rarity defended. “Let us not forget the time that you fell into a vat of apple cider and showed up to dinner with my relative completely drunk!”

“Trixie thinks we have a winner!” Trixie turned her full attention to Rarity.

“Oh, it was simply dreadful!” Rarity put a hoof over her forehead as she recalled the night’s events. “She threw out all of the fruit that weren’t apples, convinced my niece and my nephew that we are just cartoons that only exist for six to eight months out of the year, and practically hit on my parents!”

Rainbow Dash could barely control her laughter, holding onto the side of the tub so that she didn’t slip and fall into the water whilst she was still laughing. Applejack herself was hiding half of her head underwater, wishing she had her hat on to hide the other half.

“Wow, Applejack,” Rainbow said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I knew you were a fun drunk, but-”

“Shut up,” Applejack muttered as she rose out of the water. “It’s not like ah’m the only one ta show up to a fancy dinner party drunk.”

“What d’you-” Rainbow stopped and turned to Rarity, whose face now donned an expression of worry. “Y-You don’t mean-”

“Eeyup,” Applejack said, a victorious grin back on her face as she reclaimed some ground. “Some fancy dinner party she dragged me to up in Canterlot, about her new clothin’ line or somethin’, but wouldn’t ya know it? She lost her latest design sketch an’ went crazy tryin’ ta find it. When she couldn’t, she tried ta calm herself down with ‘a lil’ drink’.”

“What happened next?” Trixie asked.

“Well, let’s jus’ say that that night, she certainly wasn’t a ‘proper lady’. Quite frankly, she’s lucky ah was there, ‘else her tongue woulda been of Blueblood’s mouth fer weeks.”

“BLUEBLOOD?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, holding onto her stomach as she fell backwards with laughter. “That guy?! Really?!”

Rarity whimpered and turned her head in shame and embarrassment. “At least I kept my clothes on during my night of shame!”

“Doesn’t really make much of a difference when we don’t normally wear clothes ta begin with,” Applejack pointed out. Her attention turned to Trixie. “Alright, yer turn,” she said. “We told you ours, now you tell us one of your drunken shame moments.”

Trixie simply chuckled at the request and turned onto her front as she motioned for Aloe to begin massaging her back. “Sorry, but I’m afraid that is a story for special audiences only.”

“Your marefriend doesn’t count as special?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Trixie looked up into Rainbow’s eyes, which proved to be a mistake. After making eye contact, she found it much harder to refuse her request. “… To be honest, Trixie doesn’t remember much about it,” Trixie began, “But when you wake up by the Canterlot Falls with your head in wheel and an orange cone on your head, then it’s probably a good thing you don’t remember.”

“An orange cone?” Applejack asked. “What’s that?”

“No idea. But it was there when Trixie woke up. As for how Trixie got out of that accursed wheel…” Trixie gasped as she thought about that time. ‘I could use a variation of that spell! No, it’s too old-fashioned. Melody’s not just some countryside heckler. She’s a student from Celestia’s School, which means I have to go all out…’

Rainbow Dash’s smile fell as she found Trixie staring off into space again, mumbling something to herself as she lost all focus for everything around her. “Hey, Trixie?” No response came. “Trixie!”

“What?!” Trixie jumped and turned back to Rainbow Dash. “Oh. Um, you’ll all have to excuse Trixie. She’s feeling lightheaded, and would like to get some air.”

“Would you like me to accompany you?” Aloe asked, but Trixie shook her head and as climbed off of her massage table.

“No need. Trixie can take care of herself.”

The mares all watched in silence as Trixie made her way across the room, using her magic to wrap a towel around her mane and her lower half, and exited through the door on the other side.

“See what I mean?” Rainbow Dash asked as soon as the door was closed.

“Yes,” Rarity said, “I believe I understand, now.”

“She was definitely actin’ mighty odd,” Applejack said. “But she was doin’ jus’ fine ‘til then. What happened?”

“I don’t know!” Rainbow Dash said, groaning and leaning back against the side of the bathtub. “I really have no clue…”

“Then maybe y’all should try talkin’ with her about it,” Applejack said. “She is yer marefriend, after all.”

“Perhaps she’s still feeling unwelcome in our town,” Aloe suggested. “I know the feeling. When our spa was set up, there was much public concern about the services that we offered. Many believed we dabbled in quite questionable acts.”

“It was thanks to Miss Rarity that our business was able to be saved from bankruptcy,” Lotus added with a smile. “It was certainly a difficult time, though, feeling the mistrust of the entire town on our shoulders.”

“Oh! I know!” Aloe ran out of the room, returning a few moments later with a flier in her mouth. She spat it out onto the now-empty massage table, and Rarity leaned over to see what it was. “The town hall holds a bingo tournament every week, and today just happens to be the day it is held! Perhaps you might consider taking her? It is a great way to meet the ponies in this town.”

“Bingo?” Rainbow asked. “That’s kind of slow and boring.”

“Ah think it’s a great idea,” Applejack said. “We could all go together an’ have a blast, an’ maybe help ease some o’ the tension between Trixie and the townsfolk.”

“It’s in the late-afternoon,” Rarity pointed out. “In the meantime, we could try something else to see if we can help Trixie to feel better.”

A growl came from somewhere in the room. Everypony turned to Rainbow Dash, who was grinning sheepishly as she held her hooves over her stomach. “Well, I think we’ve sat around in water long enough,” she said as she climbed out of the tub. “Let’s go get some lunch. Maybe she’ll feel better on a full stomach.”

“It is around that time,” Applejack said as she followed Rainbow Dash out of the tub, looking over expectantly at Rarity.

“Oh, fine,” Rarity gave in with a sigh. “I knew we should have stopped at Fluttershy’s and invited her along…”

At the nearby restaurant just around the corner to the Ponyville Spa, the four mares had ordered their meals and were sat around one table outside, enjoying their lunches in the bright, warm weather that Ponyville was experiencing that day.

The four were sitting in an uncomfortable silence as they ate. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were focussing on Trixie, who was eating her sandwich slowly whilst staring blankly at it.

“Say something,” Applejack whispered to Rainbow Dash.

“Like what?” Rainbow asked. Between being focussed on her own lunch and being generally unsure of what to say in situations like this, Rainbow Dash was at a complete loss for words.

“Trixie,” Rarity called out. Trixie responded by raising her head. “I was wondering, what exactly do you like about Rainbow Dash?”

“What kinda question’s that?” Rainbow asked.

“I’m just curious,” Rarity said. “I’m interested in what exactly it is that Trixie herself sees in you, that’s all.”

“What Trixie sees in Dash?” Trixie asked. “Well, that’s…” Trixie lowered her half-eaten sandwich down onto her plate as she thought about it. “That’s a good question,” she said, “But Trixie isn’t sure if she can answer it to the degree you’re looking for.”

“Jus’ simplify it, then,” Applejack said. “Tell us what features ya like best ‘bout her, an’ what sets her apart from other mares.”

“Well for one,” Trixie said quickly, “She doesn’t spend her time mocking Trixie or defacing her home.”

Rarity gave an uneasy laugh. “Well, that’s certainly an important quality in a marefriend, to be sure…”

“But really,” Trixie continued, “Dash took Trixie by surprise. Trixie thought she had our kind all figured out. We form communities with others, whether they be in the form of towns, exclusive clubs for the rich, or even petty street gangs. Those communities stick to their own kind, and those without anywhere to go have to fend for themselves.

“But when Trixie was fighting a hopeless battle against the entire world, Dash stepped in and joined Trixie’s side.” Trixie turned to Rainbow Dash, who gave a proud smile at the story. “And it wasn’t a trick, nor did she wind up betraying me when she saw how large our foe was. She stuck by Trixie’s side, and has continued to do so.”

“Rainbow Dash always sides with the underdog,” Applejack told her. “Well, after her friends and family.”

“Dash’s looks may only be above average-”

“Hey!” Rainbow protested.

“And her personality may take some getting used to-”

“Coming from you?” Rainbow asked.

“But…” Trixie smiled at Rainbow Dash. “… She helped Trixie. She showed Trixie that not all ponies are her enemy. And most importantly, she was the first pony in a long time that Trixie has felt she can trust, and Trixie wants to continue trusting her forever.”

“That’s so sweet,” Rarity said, a wide smile crossing her face. “When did you realise it was love you were feeling?”

“Trixie wasn’t sure at first,” Trixie admitted. “Trixie just didn’t want Dash to leave her side, but from the time we’ve spent together so far… Well, Trixie has never been happier. It certainly feels like love. And it seems Dash doesn’t want Trixie to leave, either.”

“How so?” Rarity asked.

Trixie grinned, and answered, “Well, whenever we wake up together, it’s quite hard for Trixie to slip out of Dash’s hold without waking her.”

“Awwww,” Applejack said, turning to the blushing Rainbow Dash. “Ah didn’t take ya fer the snugglin’ type, Rainbow Dash.”

“I-It’s only because she keeps taking all of the bed sheet!” Rainbow Dash said. “I have to stay close or else I’ll get cold!”

“So to put it simply,” Rarity said, “You fell for Rainbow Dash’s loyalty? Her most charming aspect, if I do say so myself.”

“I bet my coolness had somethin’ to with it, too,” Rainbow said, stretching her forelegs in front of herself. “She must’ve been blown away by my sweet moves in the air.”

“Your ‘coolness’ was simply an added bonus,” Trixie replied, picking up her sandwich and resuming her lunch.

Applejack motioned for Rainbow Dash to lean forward. “Hey,” she whispered, “Maybe y’all should talk to her now. About why she’s been actin’ off today.”

“I don’t know…” Rainbow Dash whispered back.

“Ya gotta ask her if ya wanna help her,” Applejack told Rainbow Dash. “If ya need some privacy, ah can pull Rarity aside fer a moment.”

Before Rainbow Dash could respond, Rarity gasped, drawing everypony’s attention to her. “I just thought of something great we could all do together!”

“A hot air balloon ride,” Rainbow Dash said in a flat tone as she peered over the edge of the basket, looking down at the fields beneath them. “Why?”

“Oh, come now, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, leaning against Applejack as she stared off into the distance at the mountains outside of Ponyville. “You may be able to see this every day, but for those of us who remain grounded, this view is simply to die for.”

“Even then,” Applejack said, “Y’all probably fly so fast ya don’t even take the time ta ‘ppreciate the view itself.”

“I appreciated it plenty,” Rainbow said, “As a filly.”

“I’ve been meaning to drag Applejack along to a flight for a long time now, since our last one was back when we had only just started dating,” Rarity explained. “It just seemed like it would be a nice memory for the four of us to experience this beautiful scenery together.”

“It was a great idea,” Applejack said, wrapping a foreleg around Rarity to bring her closer towards herself.

Rainbow Dash simply stared off into the distance as she leaned on the edge of the basket with a bored look on her face. She glanced to her side to find that Trixie was also staring off silently into the distance. Her expression was a mix between peaceful and concerned. It was as if Trixie was trying to enjoy the sight, but that something was stopping her.

A yawn behind Rainbow Dash prompted the Pegasus to turn around. She found Applejack and Rarity sitting down with the backs to the side of the basket, Rarity snuggled up against Applejack’s chest and in the farmer’s forelegs whilst Applejack’s hat covered her eyes. Their chests were raising up-and-down peacefully.

Rainbow Dash decided that now was probably the best time, but she was still unsure of what exactly to say as she turned back to face Trixie. “… Uh… Nice view, huh?” Trixie nodded. “Of course, it’s better when you’re actually flying, as opposed to just drifting like this slow thing is doing.”

“It not bad,” Trixie said as she continued to stare off into the distance.

“… Alright, level with me, Trix,” Rainbow said, grabbing Trixie’s shoulder and spinning her so that their eyes met, “What’s goin’ on?”

Trixie blinked and tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Rainbow Dash said, making Trixie flinch. “You said earlier that you trust me. That what you like about me most is that I stuck up for you without betraying you. Well, if you trust me so much, then you shouldn’t have any problem telling me what’s got you so worried.”

“Dash, I-”

“Tell me, Trixie,” Rainbow Dash insisted. “Just… tell me already! I gotta know, or else I’m gonna be the one who can’t stop worryin’!”

Trixie stared into Rainbow’s strong, determined eyes. There was no getting around this, the showmare deduced. No talking Rainbow Dash out of it, and no dodging the bullet. Trixie sighed.

“First of all, you can’t tell anypony else.” Rainbow Dash nodded her head. “Alright… This may sound a little farfetched, but it is the truth.”

“I’m listenin’,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You see,” Trixie began, “There is a pony that Trixie knew from her school days. Well, not knew particularly well, mind you. Trixie just happened to have encountered her before. This same pony has challenged Trixie to a sort of contest. A contest of showmareship.”

“What? When?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Soon. That’s why Trixie has decided to stay behind for a little while longer. Trixie was simply going over her strategy for how to defeat her, that is all.”

“… That’s all?” Rainbow Dash asked. “There’s nothing else? ‘Cause I don’t quite believe that…”

Trixie bit her lip. ‘I guess… I can tell her… I can trust her, after all.’ “Well,” Trixie continue, “This pony has expressed a certain condition. The condition being that if Trixie refuses to show up, then the entire town will be… The town will pay the price.”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “That’s… And you were just going to keep that all to yourself?!”

“Trixie had no intention of running away,” Trixie said. “Besides, it would have done little good. If news of this reached the Royal Guard, then Melody would attack anyway. Melody is able to control animals using some form of hypnotism, so Trixie is likely being monitored as we speak.” Trixie eyes shifted towards the same flock of birds that had been flying alongside their hot air balloon since they had taken off.

“Even so,” Rainbow Dash said, “We can’t just let her get away with that!”

“We won’t,” Trixie said. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to defeat her during her challenge, and then she will leave with her head hanging in shame. And… this may be able to help Trixie rebuild her career.” Trixie shook her head. “No. Even without that in mind, Trixie cannot turn down this challenge. It has been so long since Trixie has had anypony to compete with… And she misses the feeling.”

Rainbow Dash saw the smile spread across Trixie’s face. She recognised it as being the same smile Gilda wore whenever somepony picked a fight with her, or that Lightning Dust had whenever Spitfire gave the two of them an advanced challenge. It was also the same smile that Rainbow Dash herself had probably worn her entire life, whenever presented with an obstacle course that nopony thought she could take.

“Is there any guarantee this isn’t a trap?” Rainbow asked.

“Trixie cannot remember Melody well,” Trixie said, “But she could have killed Trixie at the time that she issued the challenge. Well, she could have tried, at least,” Trixie added, flicking her mane. “The fact that she issued the challenge in the first place means, despite having nothing to gain from a mare who’s hit rock-bottom, means that this is simply a means for her to test her skills against me.”

“But if she loses, won’t she just attack the town in a fit of rage?”

“If that happens, then we will deal with it,” Trixie said. “Until then, it’s not like we have much choice but to cooperate with her demands, right?”

“… I guess you’re right,” Rainbow Dash said. “Just be careful, alright?”

“You are aware of who you are speaking to, right?” Trixie asked with a grin.

“I am,” Rainbow said. “You’re reckless and a hothead, like me. But this mare sounds like trouble, and I can’t have my marefriend coming back to me in a body bag.”

“… Trixie will keep that in mind,” Trixie said.

“And I’m glad,” Rainbow Dash continued, “That it wasn’t anything serious. I mean, I thought you were worried about the townsponies, or feeling sick and were too proud to tell me or something.”

“You were worried about Trixie?” Trixie asked, taking a step closer to Rainbow Dash and lidding her eyes seductively.

Rainbow Dash blushed and took a step back. “W-Well, maybe ‘worry’ is a bit of a strong word. I was just a teeny-tiny bit concerned, that’s all.”

“You were feeling down because you thought that Trixie was down?” Trixie asked, leaning forward and nuzzling Rainbow’s neck, rubbing the top of her head against the underside of Rainbow Dash’s chin. “Trixie apologises for that, but appreciates your ‘concern’.”

Rainbow Dash gulped as Trixie pulled back, gazing deeply into her eyes and slowly moving forward a little bit, stopping short of Rainbow’s face. “A-And just so you know, you don’t have to do this alone,” Rainbow said. Trixie looked at her quizzically. “If things get too rough for you, or if they start to look bad, you know I’ll be there to help you at any time, right?”

“… Of course,” Trixie said, her tone expressing the sudden surprise she was feeling as she took a step back. Now it was Rainbow’s turn to turn on the charm, reaching her forehooves forward and grabbing a hold of Trixie’s shoulders, leaning forward one inch before stopping, deciding to tease the showmare a little as punishment for making her worry earlier.

“Kiss her already,” Applejack said, startling the two mares and causing them both to jump back. Applejack couldn’t help but laugh.

“Applejack, you ruined it!” Rarity complained, thrusting a hoof against Applejack’s foreleg. “That was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen or heard from Rainbow Dash, but now the moment is destroyed.”

“Y-You two were awake?” Rainbow asked.

“We sure were,” Applejack said. “Ah figured ya wouldn’t talk ta Trixie unless ya felt like y’had some privacy, so ah asked Rarity ta play along fer a bit. Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Though I have to say, that was rather sweet of you, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity added. “And it’s not just her,” she said to Trixie, “But the two of us, as well, who shall be by your side at any moment. And the others too, of course, so don’t hesitate to call out to us if your ever feel cornered.”

“Of course, we won’t tell anypony ‘bout this mare fer now,” Applejack said, rising to her hooves and helping Rarity up. “Unless things start lookin’ bad, that is. In return, don’t scare Rainbow Dash like that again, alright?”

“Hah! Who was scared?!” Rainbow Dash asked. “It old you, I was just curious, that was all!”

“I could have sworn you said the word ‘concerned’,” Rarity retorted with a chuckle.

“Well you heard wrong!” Rainbow Dash said. “How much longer is this stupid balloon ride going to take? This is way too slow!”

“Trixie will try to keep in mind that Dash is a sensitive sort,” Trixie said, ignoring Rainbow’s attempted change in topic.

“Sensitive?!”

“She’s very precious to us,” Rarity said, reaching a hoof and tugging at Rainbow’s cheek. “We would hate for her to be feeling down.”

“You guys suck!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she batted Rarity’s hoof away and retreated to a safe corner in the basket, turning her back to the laughing mares as she sulked over the edge of the basket. ‘Darn it! I try to be supportive and caring, and this is what I get!’

“Hey,” Trixie whispered as she approached Rainbow Dash from behind and leaned over close to her ear, “Thanks for asking. It actually felt good to talk about my problems to somepony for once.”

“… Well, I’m just glad you’re feeling better,” Rainbow said as she wrapped a wing around Trixie. “Moping around and lookin’ all emo doesn’t suit you.”

“We’re nearing the landing pad,” Rarity announced as she looked over the edge of the basket. “Oh. I do believe that bingo tournament that Aloe mentioned will be starting in fifteen minutes. Sounds like it might be fun, right?”

“Sounds like it might be boring,” Rainbow Dash responded.

“Says here the prize is one hundred bits,” Applejack said as she read from the flier that was given to her by Aloe.

Rainbow’s ears twitched. “… Welllll, I guess if you guys want to go so badly…”

“Dash,” Trixie said, “You have bit coins for eyes right now.”

“Hey, you could use that money to fix up your trailer, right?” Rainbow suggested.

Trixie hummed in thought and then nodded her head. “You raise a valid point.”

“Ah think that settles it then,” Applejack said. “So, same teams as earlier?”

“I think we should switch it up a little bit,” Rarity said.

“How so?”

‘Team Unicorn’ was written across the top of one bingo sheet, set on the table before Rarity and Trixie, both of whom were sat opposite of their opposing team.

‘Team Awesome’ was scribbled across the top of the bingo sheet laid out in front of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Applejack had agreed to let Rainbow Dash pick out the team name as long as it was kept to something short and simple.

“So, it’s the Unicorns versus the awesomes,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Clearly you are not aware that Unicorn is the superior race,” Trixie retorted with a harrumph.

“Now now, guys,” Applejack said. “Let’s try ta keep this nice an’-”

“You two are goin’ down!” Rainbow Dash challenged, her pen at the ready as she waited for the game to begin.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie will have you on your knees by the end of the evening!” Trixie declared.

“… You two are aware that bingo is all luck-based, correct?” Rarity asked.

“Trixie’s luck is stronger than anypony else’s!” Trixie boasted.

“I dunno,” Applejack said. “Rainbow Dash ‘ere once crashed into a barn at full-speed, yet she didn’t break a single bone in her body. That seems pretty lucky if’n ya ask me.”

“In any case,” Rarity said, “Let us not forget why we are here.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow in confusion. “To play bingo?”

“We thought this might be a good way ta help ya settle into the community,” Applejack explained. “Lotsa folk are gathered here tonight. This’s a good chance t’get ta know some ponies.”

“Well that doesn’t sound very likely,” Trixie said with a roll of her eyes.

“Don’t give up before y’even start puttin’ the barn together,” Applejack told her. “Ponyville’s full of nice ponies. Y’jus’ have ta give ‘em a chance.”

“Uh, except those two,” Rainbow Dash said as she pointed towards two teenage mares chatting in the distance. “Those two are kinda hopeless.”

“But Cheerilee’s nice,” Applejack said as she pointed behind Trixie. Trixie and Rarity turned around to see two purple Earth Pony mares sitting behind them. “Howdy Cheerilee!”

The two mares turned around, and one of them smiled and waved back at the group. “Why hello there Applejack. And Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and…”

“Trixie,” Trixie told her. “The Great and-”

“Powerful,” Cheerilee finished. “Yes, I remember you.” Trixie’s ears fell against the sides of her head. “My two students, Snips and Snails, have really come a long way in their studies thanks to you.”

Trixie’s ears perked back up again, though certainly not at the mention of the two colts’ names. “Thanks to me?”

“Oh yes. They say that they want to become just as great as you are, so they’re working extra hard to make it happen. Their grades are still a bit lacking, but they’ve certainly been making progress, that’s for sure.”

“Let’s just hope they don’t try to enslave our town in the future,” the mare sitting beside Cheerilee jeered. Cheerilee nudged the mare with a disapproving look on her face. “What? She totally did that, remember?”

“Yet she’s here now, and all we are doing is playing a nice game of bingo,” Cheerilee said. “Why not just leave it at that, Berry Punch?”

“Easy for you to say. You weren’t forced to squash grapes into wine without any rest and with a whip constantly reminding you to speed up for almost a whole day!”

“You made her do that?” Rarity asked, her voice shaking a little bit.

Trixie remained silent as she looked into the mare’s glaring eyes.

“That was some time ago, wasn’t it?” a voice beside Berry Punch said. Everypony turned to see two donkeys, one male and one female, sitting to the side. It was the male one, with the tall blonde wig, that had spoke. “Word is she wasn’t in her right frame of mind back then.”

“So what? It doesn’t change what she did,” Berry Punch argued.

“No, it doesn’t. But where will holding a grudge get you? I’ve been to a lot of places in my time, met a lot of ponies, and let me tell you, I’ve seen a lot of decent folk fall victim to circumstance and commit horrific actions out of either desperation or tragic misunderstandings.”

“What are you saying?” Berry Punch asked. “That we should just forget what she did?”

“I think what Cranky’s saying,” Cheerilee said, “Is that we should forget what Trixie did, but merely look past it, and see her for who she is now.”

“Right,” Cranky said with a nod. “She’s not possessed by that amulet anymore, so why try to make an enemy out of her? Why try to fight with her when you could be having fun with her?”

Berry Punch turned back to Trixie, who was doing her best to stay strong under the mare’s judging glare. “… I don’t know if I can-”

“Why don’t you do the usual, then?” Cheerilee suggested, reaching down into the bag besides Berry Punch and pulling out a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. “You made up with Time Turner this way, right?”

Berry Punch took the glasses quickly and offered one to Trixie, who grabbed a hold of it with her magic despite not quite understanding what was going on. Cheerilee opened the bottle and poured out two equal portions of wine, one for Berry Punch, and one for Trixie.

“OnetwothreeGO!” Berry Punch shouted, tilting her head back and downing her glass of wine quickly.

Trixie was still confused, and quickly looked behind herself for confirmation. She saw the other three mares nod towards her, and turned back to Berry Punch as she downed her own glass.

“And it’s settled!” Cheerilee announced as soon as Trixie was finished.

“Alright!” Berry Punch said as she grinned and swung a foreleg around Trixie. “I guess I can give ya another chance! Anypony who appreciates a fine glass of wine’s gotta be an okay pony in my books!”

“Um… thanks?” Trixie said.

“See?” Rarity said as soon as Berry Punch released Trixie, allowing her to rejoin her friends. “It’s not that hard to get along with others.”

“… Maybe it’s just this town then,” Trixie reasoned. “Maybe this town is just weird.”

“Well, duh,” Rainbow Dash said. “Why d’you think we like it here so much?”

“EVERYPONYYYYYY!” Everypony held their hooves against their ears as a familiar cheery voice screeched through a microphone’s speakers. “Oops, sorry!” Trixie turned to the stage to find Pinkie Pie smiling sheepishly out into the crowd. “Anyway, are you all ready to get your game on?!”

“Looks like it’s starting,” Rarity said.

Trixie turned towards Rainbow Dash and Applejack and tipped her hat at them. “Well then, may the best team win.”

“We will,” Rainbow Dash said, “But at least try to put up a fight.”

Applejack and Rarity both sighed and facehooved in unison. “We got two of ‘em now,” Applejack said to Rarity.

“Yes,” Rarity agreed, “And with Pinkie Pie on stage, I have a feeling things are going to get very loud here tonight.”

“Today was simply wonderful,” Rarity said as stopped alongside Trixie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack just outside of the town hall, “But I’m afraid we must be parting ways here. The two of us have arranged to attend dinner at the farm today.”

“That’s cool,” Rainbow Dash said. “We should hang out more often. But, with less spas, and definitely less hot air balloons. Seriously, how can you stand moving so slowly?”

“We should do this again at some point,” Applejack agreed. “Ah guess we’ll see y’all tomorrow then.”

“Take care, darlings,” Rarity said as she waved goodbye, following Applejack moments later down the path that led towards the farm.

Rainbow Dash and Trixie both waved goodbye themselves and then turned to leave in the opposite direction, Rainbow Dash kicking off of the ground and hovering in the air beside Trixie whilst Trixie walked.

“So, your place tonight?” Rainbow asked as she stretched her forelegs and yawned.

“Actually,” Trixie began, “If it’s all the same, Trixie would like to spend the rest of the evening, and the night, planning her strategy for her battle against Melody.”

Rainbow Dash stopped, prompting Trixie to do the same. “Oh, uh, right… Well, I could still help, right?”

“But that would ruin the surprise,” Trixie said with a grin. “Trixie wants to see your delightful look of awe and wonder as she dazzles you with the most spectacular show you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Also, Trixie could do without the distractions,” she added bluntly.

“What distractions?” Rainbow Dash asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“The neck-kissing? The running your hooves all over me? The-”

“Okay!” Rainbow Dash said, descending quickly to shove a hoof into Trixie’s mouth. “Watch it! There might be kids around here.”

“In any case,” Trixie continued, “Trixie just needs some time to plan on her own, and to get an early night’s rest.”

“… If you say so,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes and turning around with a sigh.

Trixie detected a hint of disappointment in Rainbow’s voice, and used her magic to pull the Pegasus back, rotating her body so that they were facing each other and moving forward to bring their lips together.

“Trixie will make it up to you,” Trixie said as she pulled away. “Just be patient, okay?”

Rainbow Dash sighed once more, but this time followed it with a smile. “Right. You do what you need to do, and kick some serious flank tomorrow!”

“You got it.” The two hoof-bumped and Rainbow Dash took off into the sky towards her home. Trixie watched with a smile until Rainbow Dash was out of sight, at which point she furrowed her brow and began marching down the street. The smile was still present, but it was joined by a look of heavy determination. “I’ll definitely win.” Trixie shook her head. “I have to win.”

12 - Showdown!

“Extra, extra! Read all about it! The Great and Powerful Trixie challenged to magic duel tonight in the Ponyville Park!”

Ponies swarmed around Featherweight’s stand as he and his partner, Shady Daze, sold papers left and right to the curious ponies of the town excited to read up on this supposed duel for themselves. After Trixie’s previous had been suddenly cancelled, ponies had initially thought that the showmare had turned tail and fled the town in a cowardly manner, but after seeing her still walking about, with Rainbow Dash no less, questions began to fill the townsponies’ minds and they were hungry for answers.

“What’s this?” Twilight asked as she grabbed a newspaper and paid a bit to the colts running the stand. “A duel? I haven’t heard anything about a duel. Have you Spike?”

Spike, who was standing beside Twilight holding a stack of papers, shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about it either.”

Twilight scanned across the article, her eyes narrowing as she came across the name of Trixie’s competition. “‘Chime Philharmonica’?”

“Wait, ‘Philharmonica’?” Spike asked. “As in like Octavia Philharmonica?”

“I don’t think I recall ever hearing about Octavia having any relatives by that name,” Twilight said, “And I’m a big fan of hers. There’s something about this name that bothers me, though. I’m sure I’ve heard it somewhere.”

“Twilight, I think maybe we should move on,” Spike said, noting the crowd of ponies still gathering around the newspaper stand, some waiting less-than-patiently for the two to make room for others to get through. “We’ll see this pony for ourselves later, right?”

Twilight continued staring at the name for a few seconds before conceding and folding the newspaper into her bag. “I guess so. But that name… Maybe there’s something back in the library that can help me.”

Preshow jitters were all the rage for Trixie Lulamoon back in her days at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. During her first ever performance, Trixie felt as though she were going to pass out from nervousness. Naturally, though, this was something that Trixie overcame with many years of practice.

Just as naturally, they returned when a certain incident brought forth a dark age of the Great and Powerful Trixie’s performances, but even then she had to put on her best face to pretend that nothing was wrong. Her nerves were still running high, though, because every performance felt like it could very well have been her last.

This day was no different for Trixie, or at least it wasn’t, but something miraculous happened whilst she was going over her final plans for the upcoming duel. A certain blue pegasus that Trixie had come to know well recently had stopped by to offer her some comfort, and against Trixie’s expectations, this same pegasus managed to destroy those nerves plaguing Trixie’s mind in a matter of seconds, smashing Trixie’s best record of taking a full minute in order to calm down. And all that it required was a single kiss.

Or two.

Or three.

Trixie lost count after tongues entered the mix, and her hoof was running through Rainbow Dash’s mane – which Trixie made a mental note to brush properly when this whole thing was over.

“Trixie really should…” Trixie stopped when Rainbow Dash kissed her one more time. “… Should be getting ready right n-now.” Trixie flinched as she felt Rainbow’s forehead brush against the base of her horn, an act that the pegasus seemed to be doing on purpose.

“You got some time, right?” Rainbow asked as she pulled back and stared into Trixie’s eyes with a sultry look on her face. “I’m just helpin’ ya unwind a bit.”

“Trixie needs to spend all of today before the show preparing herself,” Trixie countered. “A decent lunch, a trip to the spa and receive the full treatment, warming up my magic-”

“Is that even a thing?” Rainbow asked. “I thought magic was always warmed up.”

“But when you’re casting multiple spells together and in quick succession, you have to prepare your timing. And the timing is different on a day-to-day basis, based on many factors, such as the unicorn’s mental state, their health, their-” Trixie was cut off by a pair of lips suddenly assaulting her own.

“I didn’t ask for a lesson on magic,” Rainbow said as she pulled back. “Okay, so you got a lot to do. You’ll still make it, even if you spend just a little time with me.”

Trixie chuckled and scooted closer to Rainbow Dash, pressing their noses together. “Did somepony feel lonely last night?”

“What can I say? There’s somethin’ you unicorns do that just make hooves not enough.”

“We are the best race,” Trixie said.

“Just under pegasi,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Unicorns, under pegasi?” Trixie scoffed, but then gasped as she felt herself being pushed down onto her back, her forehooves being pinned to her bed by Rainbow’s as the pegasus grinned down at the trapped unicorn.

“Yeah, that’s about right,” Rainbow said as she leaned down to kiss Trixie’s neck.

Trixie gasped and resisted the urge to moan in pleasure. ‘D-Darn it. I really do have to prepare for this upcoming match, but…’ As Trixie felt a tongue licking her ear, she relaxed and gave in. ‘Oh well. The Great and Powerful Trixie will still win, either way. She can spare an hour or two just fooling around.’

And so the time of the fateful duel arrived. Ponies took the park by storm as they gathered from all corners of Ponyville to bear witness to a duel between two ponies that had supposedly graduated from the most advanced magic academy in the country.

Whether it was out of respect for Rainbow Dash’s new friend – or marefriend for those in the know – or because they were genuinely interested in what was about to transpire, Trixie noticed that nopony seemed to have come prepared to cause any trouble or incite a mob. She was thankful for that.

“Nervous?” Melody asked from her spot beside Trixie on the stage. “I guess you’re used to being booed off before you can even begin, huh? But relax. If anypony starts any trouble, two masters of the magical arts like us can take care of them. I certainly wouldn’t mind teaming up with you to dispel any hecklers.”

“Trixie can take care of such things herself,” Trixie said. “You’re going to leave the town alone now, right?”

“Providing you’re indeed the real Trixie,” Melody said with a grin. “Just a joke. The town doesn’t concern me outside of being a suitable hostage, and I’ll certainly gain nothing from destroying it now, so you can relax.”

“So how is this going to go down?” Trixie asked.

Melody paused for a second to look Trixie up and down. “You seem calm,” she noted. ‘Still, she is out of practice. I want this to be a good match, so…’ “Let’s start with a performance. You go first, and then I will. You see the pillars to either side of the stage?”

Trixie turned to her right and took note of the huge pillar at the side of the stage. She then looked to her left, past Melody, and saw a similar pillar on the other end. “What about them?”

“They will light up when the audience cheers. We have one pillar each. We can judge whose performance is better from those.”

“And what kind of performance are we putting on?” Trixie asked.

“Whatever kind you want,” Melody said. “Naturally, I’ll be armed with my beautiful music.”

Trixie put a hoof to her chin. ‘That’s it? That’s all this is? This will be easy. Let’s see… If it’s just one act, then a story is the obvious choice. I can immerse the crowd with my magic. But what kind of story should I perform?’ Trixie’s ears shot up as she heard a whistle and her eyes scanned the crowd. She found Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie waving towards her from the crowd, standing beside Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy.

“GOOD LUCK!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

“Kick her butt!” followed Rainbow Dash, prompting a grin to spread across Trixie’s face.

“Your mare is there cheering for you,” Melody noted. “How sweet.”

“… The Great and Powerful Trixie is ready now,” Trixie said, still grinning as she stared out into the crowd. ‘If Trixie is going to tell a story of wonder, there’s really no better choice than that.’

“Well then, I’ll clear the stage for you,” Melody said with a bow. She turned around and slowly departed from the stage. “You may begin whenever you’re ready.”

“Looks like it’s about to start,” a stallion from the crowd said.

“It’s that mare that imprisoned us,” a mare called out. “Is this going to be safe?”

“I wonder what she’s going to do?” another mare asked.

Trixie raised her hoof, hushing the crowd instantly. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” she called out, using a microphone pinned to her cape to amplify her voice. “… Welcome! This is the story of a young filly who was tossed aside by the world, but later found hope, in the form of a single pony that resembled a multi-coloured angel! A tale of near-tragedy, averted by a single act of kindness.

“This is: ‘Out in the Cold’.”

A small snowflake fluttered down from the sky and landed on Rainbow Dash’s nose. The pegasus raised a hoof up to grab the little flake and examined it as it melted in her hoof. “Snow? It’s not the right time of year for snow…”

“It was during a harsh, cold wintery night that our story begins,” Trixie announced from the snow-covered stage, though she wasn’t alone. By her side was a pony about the size of a foal no older than ten, her appearance masked by a black cloak and a shadow cast over her face. “Like the previous winter, Lula was all alone. She had no family to turn to, and only a broken down shack to protect herself from the cold.”

“I’m so hungry,” Lula muttered as she walked towards the left side of the stage. “I’m also cold, and I’m tired. But I can’t rest yet. If I don’t find some food for the winter, I’ll starve.”

“Lula, you see, had lost her family to the cold hoof of fate,” Trixie continued. “With no other family to turn to, Lula was left to fend for herself. But no matter where the young pony went, some would simply turn their heads and dismiss her without a second thought, whilst others would laugh and chase the filly away. She was truly alone.”

“Why won’t anypony accept me?” Lula asked, falling to the knees in the snow piled up on the stage. “Why am I cast aside wherever I go? Mama told me that my friends would be my strength, but does that mean that without any, I’m just a weak critter destined to be taken by nature’s merciless sword?”

“A year of loneliness. A year of isolation, and rejection. Lula slowly came to one shocking realisation.”

“Nopony will ever accept me,” Lula said, her voice low and monotone as she turned towards the crowd. A harsh wind blew her hood away, revealing a pale-green face and a long, messy grey mane. The horn on Lula’s head glowed a faint aqua colour and her eyes narrowed as flames seemed to spark up in her pupils. “Nopony will ever accept me, not of their own free will. I must make them accept me.”

A chill descended Rainbow Dash’s spine, but not just from the cold wind blowing around her. “Hey,” Pinkie Pie whispered to her, “Isn’t that filly supposed to be Trixie?”

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “W-What? Why would you think that?”

“They just seem so similar,” Pinkie Pie said. “Their eyes look alike, and they feel the same.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “That’s just stupid,” she said, though as she looked closer at Lula and thought back to her first meeting with Trixie in Detrot, her certainty began to waver.

“If there is no place in this world for me, then I will simply have to make a place!” Lula reached out towards a glowing object that had materialised before her. “What’s this?”

“Take my power, child,” a mysterious, echoed voice called out. “Use my power, and create a place in this world where you belong.”

“This light… it’s so warm,” Lula said as she continued to reach out towards the light. With a gasp, she quickly pulled away. “No, wait! I know what you want! You want to turn me into a simply pawn for your own dark desires, don’t you?!”

“What you say is correct,” the voice answered, “But consider this: even should you survive the current winter and live to see spring, what exactly do you have to look forward to?” Lula had no answer for that. “Is another year of solitude and despair really worth keeping your soul?”

Lula averted her eyes and the wind blowing against her stopped, along with the snow falling from the sky. “… You’re right,” she said. “No matter where I go or what I do, I am always destined to be alone. If that is the case, then I might as well take whatever happiness I can by force!” Lula turned towards the light. “Give me your power! With it, I can finally defeat this despair!”

“It’s not quite that simple,” a new voice said, startling Lula. Rainbow Dash gasped as she saw the source of the voice: a young pegasus mare, no older than herself, with a white coat and golden hair, her body entwined by rainbow-coloured trails of light. She approached the filly from the right and hovered in the air before her. “You can’t take the world on by yourself, no matter what kind of power you have. In the end, you’ll just cause yourself more pain, before losing yourself entirely.”

“And who are you, huh?!” Lula asked, stepping towards the pegasus.

“I’m a friend,” the pegasus responded, stopping Lula in her tracks. “I saw that you were in pain, so I came to help you.”

“Yeah right! Nopony ever stops to help me, so why should you be any different?!”

“Because I am different,” the pegasus told the filly. “I don’t turn my back on a pony who is suffering, and I don’t just stand by and watch as they make their lives even worse.”

“And I’m just supposed to believe that?” Lula asked.

“You can believe what you want,” the pegasus answered, “But I’m not going to leave your side until your life is back on track, nor am I going to let you give in to false promises from a dark artefact.”

“… But what can you do?” Lula asked. “I’ve tried everything, but no matter how hard I try…”

“That’s because you’ve always tried everything alone,” the pegasus answered. “But life isn’t like that. There are things you can only do with another by your side.” The rainbow lights around the pegasus began to glow brighter, and the snow around the filly started to melt.

“But how can I trust you?” Lula asked.

“What have you got to lose?” the pegasus responded. “Tell you what: give me a week, and if things don’t start looking up by then, you can ditch me. How’s that sound?”

“The young pony’s mind was in turmoil, but she ultimately accepted the pegasus’ offer,” Trixie said as the two ponies walked side-by-side across the stage, the lighting changing from light to dark and back to light several times. “A week passed, and the two grew to know each other even better. At first the filly was determined to keep a wall of ice shielding her heart from the pegasus at all times, but as she talked more with her, and the two began to laugh and learn more things about each other together, the pegasus’ smile was slowly able to melt that wall.

“By the time the week had ended, it was time for Lula to make her decision.” Lula removed her cloak and threw it aside. “Would she stay and accept help from the strange mare who had appeared out of nowhere, or would she seek the warm comfort of the darkness that promises power?”

“I don’t feel any stronger,” Lula told the pegasus, “But I feel… more secure around you.”

“And why’s that?” the pegasus asked.

“… Because I know that even if I’m too weak to fend for myself, I can always turn to you.” Lula nodded, smiling up at the pegasus mare. “You’ll never betray me, that much is clear. And if I have you backing me up, I don’t need to turn to darkness or to view everypony as an enemy. And maybe… maybe there are others like you out there. Other ponies I can rely on, who I just need to find.”

The pegasus nodded and stepped forward to lay a hoof on the filly’s head. “That’s right. Even if some ponies cast you aside, you shouldn’t do the same. Because somewhere out there is a pony that wants to be your friend, and if you turn them away of your own accord, you’re just furthering your own loneliness.”

“Gee, she makes Rainbow Dash sound like a wise old sage,” Applejack said in a flat tone.

“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“The pegasus is clearly a representation of you, darling,” Rarity explained.

Rainbow’s eyes widened as she turned to the pegasus on the stage. “Wait, what?!”

“And so,” Trixie began, stepping forward as her illusions began to fade away, “Young Lula was able to live a happy, fulfilling life, no longer shackled by the feelings of bitterness and torment that nearly pushed her into the dark abyss of revenge. And all that it took for this miracle to occur, was a single angel, in the form of a pony, to reach out and offer the filly one small thing: her support and acceptance.”

The crowd cheered and clapped their hooves as Trixie took a bow. Melody also applauded as she watched Trixie approaching her. “That was a sweet little tale,” she said as Trixie passed her by. “Also very corny. I wonder what your inspiration for it was?”

Trixie simply shrugged. “Maybe Trixie found some little orphaned filly on her travels. It really is so hard to keep up with everypony Trixie has met.”

“Well, the audience seemed to like it,” Melody said as she walked onto the stage. “Let’s see if I can’t top that with my heart-melting music, hm?”

Twilight was galloping towards the crowd in the park when she heard the sound of a beautiful melody entering her ears. “This song… It must be Melody’s! I have to hurry!” Twilight approached the crowd and tried to push past the ponies there to find her friends. “Excuse me, can I come through please?” she asked, not receiving an answer from any of the ponies around her.

Upon closer examination, the ponies appeared to be in a trance of sorts. Every last pony gathered was focused on the stage, where Melody was playing a song through her flute. The song was indeed nice, and Twilight herself found it hard to ignore the melody as she continued ot push through the crowds.

A rainbow tail caught her eyes and she continued to struggle through the crowds, making her way over to Rainbow Dash with some effort. “Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash heard the voice calling her and turned around. “There you are!” she said, her other friends turning to face Twilight, too. “What took ya? You missed Trixie’s performance.”

“It was a rather nice tale,” Rarity said. “And quite obvious who it was based on,” she added in a sly tone, directing a sideways glance towards Rainbow Dash.

“But this mare’s not so bad, either,” Applejack commented, turning back to the stage. “Chime Philharmonica’s pretty good at the flute.”

“That’s not her name,” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the mare on the stage. “I thought I had heard the name before, so I did some reading at the library on famous musicians.”

“And what did you find?” Rarity asked.

“I found that ‘Chime Philharmonica’ is a fictional character in a play that was held by a class of students in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She never really existed,” Twilight told the girls. “More than that, I found that there was a mare in that same class named ‘Melody’, who was both the actress and the inspiration behind this character. Moreso than that, though, she’s also a wanted criminal.”

The girls all gasped, especially Rarity. “A-A wanted criminal?!” she shouted, prompting Applejack to place a hoof over her mouth quickly as ponies around them turned to look.

As soon as the curious onlookers turned away, Applejack removed her hoof and whispered to Twilight, “Y’all are pullin’ our legs, right?”

“I wish I were,” Twilight said. “Melody’s face was familiar to me, and for some reason it made me think of my brother. That’s when I remembered seeing a wanted ponies list in his office, and sure enough when I requested a copy from the princess, her face was on it!”

“Melody’s or the princess’?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“… Melody’s,” Twilight answered flatly.

“A wanted criminal?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning to the stage where Melody was still performing her music. “… No way I’m lettin’ this go on!” Rainbow Dash took off into the air, only to be stopped by Applejack’s teeth clamped onto her tail.

“Hold on there!” Applejack shouted as she pulled Rainbow Dash back down. “Ah don’t think that’d be a good idea! Not with all these ponies around!”

“Applejack’s right,” Rarity said. “If what Trixie said was true, this mare has the entire town hostage!”

“What?!” Twilight shouted. “You knew about this?! And you didn’t say anything?!”

“Well, we weren’t aware that she was a wanted criminal,” Rarity defended. “Trixie asked us not to interfere, so we complied with her wishes, but… this changes things.”

“… Well, what’s done is done. I suppose stopping the show now would be dangerous,” Twilight conceded. “For now, I think it would be for the best to simply watch. If Trixie, or anypony else, appears to be in dangerous, we’ll intervene. Okay, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash, who was gritting her teeth as she glared at the musical mare finishing her performance on the stage, huffed. “Yeah, okay.”

“It seems to be a close match,” Trixie declared as she watched the two pillars on either side of the stage illuminating at equal intensities. “But the difference between songs and stories is that stories can have epilogues and sequels,” Trixie added. “Trixie can keep her act going all day.”

“Who said that this would be the heart of the competition?” Melody asked as she lowered her flute and closed her eyes. “That was merely the warm-up act, both for us and for the audience.”

“Warm-up? So there’s more?” Trixie asked, receiving a nod from Melody. “Very well. Enlighten Trixie as to what the next challenge shall be.”

“Well, seeing as we’re both mares who major in the same type of magic, I feel that a little one-on-one would be a fitting way to determine who is the stronger unicorn.”

“‘The same type of magic’? But Trixie thought that you specialised in sound-based magic.” Trixie noticed the aura around Melody’s horn grow bigger and took a cautious step back. “Like Vinyl Scratch, you can use your magic to enhance you music or to give it special properties.”

“That’s what you thought?” Melody asked. She shook her head and gave a soft laugh. “Sorry, but you were mistaken. That’s only how it appears to be because I like to channel my magic through my music. In actuality, though, my magic is of the same type of yours… sensory manipulation.”

“In other words, illusions,” Trixie muttered, followed by a quick gasp. “I see. That’s how your hypnosis is so powerful at such a young age. You break your target’s grasp on reality, and from there you simply slip suggestions into their minds that they blindly follow. Their own minds are in turmoil, she they don’t have the strength to fight against it.”

“Well-deduced,” Melody said. The light from her horn exploded outwards. Trixie turned as she heard the audience gasp and yelp, her eyes widening as she witnessed the streams of golden energy that sparked and crackled furiously. “This cage will keep any interplopers out. I do so hate the audience ruining a perfectly good performance, don’t you?”

“That much energy could power an entire city,” Trixie commented as she scrutinized the cage now surrounding herself.

“Don’t worry,” Melody said, “It’s only one-way. If you touch it from inside, you’ll simply pass right through. So do go ahead and flee, if you feel you have no chance.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie, fleeing from a battle?” Trixie scoffed. “Trixie wasn’t aware there was a comedy challenge in this little competition of yours.”

“Then I’ll just make this quick.” Melody raised her flute to her mouth once more. “No rules. No restrictions. First to either admit defeat, be rendered unable to fight, or to flee the arena is the loser. Are you ready to begin?”

“Does Princess Celestia find amusement in pranking her guards?” Trixie asked.

Princess Celestia giggled as she approached the two guards standing like statues at the end of the hall, creeping quietly so as to not alert them to her presence.

‘This is going to be so fun,’ Celestia thought as she stopped behind the two guards. Her nose began to tingle and she could stop the inevitable release of the sneeze that had been building up.

The two guards turned around and pointed their spears, freezing up and immediately retracting their weapons as they saw who it was behind them. “P-Princess Celestia! Please forgive us!” one of the guards said as they both bowed in unison. “… If you don’t mind my asking, why do you have a megaphone, Princess?”

“O-Oh, this?” Celestia asked, smiling sheepishly as she held her megaphone in the air with her magic. “Just, uh… a little test to see if you were on your guard! You passed. Well done.” Celestia turned around and walked away from the two confused guards, her smile falling into a pout as she stared at the unused megaphone still in her magical hold. ‘Darn you, dust bunnies. You win this time.’

“Let’s go already!” Trixie continued.

“In that case,” Melody said, “Let the battle begin!” Melody brought her flute to her mouth and blew into it, producing a sharp noise that forced Trixie to pin her ears to the sides of her head.

“You’ll have to do better than that!” Trixie shouted as a glow from her horn produced a small bubble that spread out around her, blocking the sound that was assaulting her ears. She gasped as she witnessed the panels of the wooden stage beneath her crumbling away, but acted quickly by jumping backwards before the floor she was standing on disappeared and landed on a small stone platform that had formed behind her.

“I have more where that came from,” Melody boasted as she blew into her flute once more. This time, Trixie could see blurs in the air coming towards her.

“Attacking me with vibrations? Won’t work!” Trixie quickly used her magic to direct all of her barrier’s focus on the front, fending off the incoming attack with only some of it breaking through, causing her to wince and take a few steps back.

“What’s going on?!”

“Are they really fighting? Like, for real?”

“Shouldn’t somepony stop this?”

Rainbow Dash had had enough. There was only so far her patience could take her, and seeing another pony assaulting her marefriend before her eyes was definitely beyond those bounds. “I’m not gonna watch this anymore!”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “She’s taken this too far. If we don’t stop this, somepony could wind up hurt!”

Rainbow Dash lifted into the air and took off as quickly as she could towards the stage, a determined look in her eyes as she watched Trixie retaliate to Melody’s attacks by launching a large ball of fire towards her.

“No interfering, please!” Melody shouted as she deflected the fireball into the air with a sudden strong gust of wind. Rainbow Dash ignored her and continued to fly, that is until she came to a sudden stop when she collided with something invisible surrounding the stage.

Trixie gasped as she watched Rainbow Dash falling from the air and towards the ground. “Dash!” she shouted, panic in her voice. A couple of pegasi moved quickly to catch their fallen comrade, and Trixie released a sigh of relief when she saw that Rainbow Dash was still moving. “Thank goodness she’s hard-headed.”

“You should be focussing on me,” Melody said in a threatening tone as her horn sparked to life yet again.

“You’re really starting to get on Trixie’s nerves,” Trixie said as she turned back to Melody, horn flaring as small snowflakes descended down onto the stage. “Trixie thought that you merely wanted to prove which of us was the best, but she never imagined you would take things to this extent.”

“Isn’t it the Great and Powerful Trixie that once said: ‘If you’re going to come at me, hold nothing back. If two opponents do not give it their all, a true winner cannot be declared.’?”

“But to the point that our lives are on the line?” Trixie asked.

“That just makes it more interesting!” Melody declared. “When a hunter catches its game, does he not mount its head on his wall for all to see?”

“Trixie’s head will be decorating no walls!” Trixie raised her left forehoof and stamped it down, creating a shockwave that forced a series of stalagmites to shoot forth from the stage’s floor towards Melody.

“Ever since we first competed, I knew that you were something special!” Melody shouted as she moved quickly to avoid the stalagmites, stopping for a moment to shiver as the cold air started to get to her. “You were strong, and full of dreams and aspirations! Even though you never received the training to truly bring out your skills, you never let that stop you! You pushed on and never gave up!

“And when you beat me that first time, I knew then who my target was!” Melody used her magic to light a fire on the floor, hoping to heat herself up and protect herself from the harsh cold that Trixie was producing. Instead, the fire died out only moments after it had been ignited. “My boring life became more interesting, and I was determined to show you how strong I became every time we fought!

“But you never remembered me, did you?! To you, I was just another face in the crowd. Just another wannabe magician for you to triumph over in your shows. But now, things will end differently.”

“So basically, you’re upset that Trixie beat you so many times and now just want payback?!” Trixie asked.

Melody simply laughed. “Revenge? Payback? Hardly! I never said that I was upset at my losses, but what bothers me is that you never remembered me! But this time, I’ll make sure you remember me, by defeating you here and now! And if I have to take your life to do that, then so be it!”

“And just how do you intend to defeat Trixie when you can barely even move your body?” Trixie asked, her horn glowing even brighter as the cold wind blew harder across the stage. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has no weaknesses! Any strategy you may have, I can assure you, it will not work!”

“Even Hercoltes had his weaknesses,” Melody said with a grin. “While my power comes from a desire to win your attention, your power comes from a similar yet somewhat redirected desire.”

“What do you-” Trixie stopped as something flew past her face. A red blur that caught her by surprise. She had almost dropped her spell, but managed to keep it going even as more objects flew past her, some of them even hitting on the side. “What the?” Trixie turned her head to find the source of the many objects being thrown her way.

Her eyes widened as she saw the same thing she has grown used to seeing for the past year. Tomatoes, apples, popcorn, screwed up fliers or pieces of paper, and all manner of things were being thrown at Trixie by practically every single pony in the crowd.

No. Not ‘practically’. Every single pony out there was throwing something at Trixie, and not out of joy or amusement. The looks in their eyes… were ones of pure, undeniable hatred. Scorn, loathing, resentment. The stallions and the mares in the crowd all shouted horrible things and demanded that Trixie leave as they threw things at her, as did the fillies and colts at the front.

Even young Snips and Snails, her two supposedly biggest fans in the entire town. Even Pinkie Pie, who had thrown Trixie such a welcoming welcome party, and Rarity, who had become something of a gossip-buddy with Trixie as of late. Twilight Sparkle, who was perhaps the most eager to talk to Trixie again. She, too, was joining in with the crowd.

“GET OUT OF HERE!” That last cry came from none other than Rainbow Dash, who had thrown a rotten pie at just the right time as Trixie raised her head to look at her, hitting the showmare in the face. “I CAN’T BELIEVE I EVER FELL FOR YOU! YOU’RE THE WORST!”

Sweat and tears ran down Trixie’s face and her legs began to shake. “No,” she whispered, taking a step back. “I-It can’t be. I thought that Dash said that-” Trixie gasped. It hit her as suddenly as the hard apple did her thigh. ‘An illusion!’

“Bingo,” Trixie heard Melody say. Trixie turned around, but found nothing. Suddenly, all was silent, and water filled Trixie’s vision as she found her movements becoming harder to perform. “You are driven by the love you receive from your audience. This past year has been difficult for you because of the rejection you’ve received, and that’s why it is so easy to strike your weak point for great damage.”

“Damn it!” is what Trixie wanted to shout at that point, but as she opened her mouth, as that came out were some bubbles and the light gargling sounds. Trixie immediately closed her mouth as she realised where she was. Suspended in the air, just a few feet above the stage, Trixie Lulamoon was trapped within a sphere of water.

Or so it seemed.

‘This is just another illusion!’ Trixie thought to herself as she closed her eyes and focussed. Illusion or not, it felt real, and even if she knew it was not real, with her mind in such disarray after that last assault, dispelling the illusion would prove difficult.

‘Focus, focus!’ Trixie thought as she tried to muster up the strength to break the illusion. But it was no good. Images of the angry mob scorning her and telling her to leave re-entered her mind. Ponies who she had recently accepted as friends turning on her poked fear into her heart. And the one pony she had placed her trust into after such a long time, suddenly betraying her, send her mind into a storm of chaos that made focussing on breaking any illusions impossible.

“Oh how the Great and Powerful hath fallen,” Melody said as she released the magic in her horn. Trixie soon found herself kneeling on the floor, no longer submerged in water, but the damage was already done. After almost drowning, Trixie found it hard to stand up or muster any magic. She instead could only look up at Melody standing over her, the stage now clear of any of their previous illusions and the crowd calm and silent as they watched for what would happen next.

A gasp passed over the crowd as they witnessed Melody raise her right foreleg into the air and materialise a sword with her magic. Trixie couldn’t tell if this was real or another illusion, but either way, if she were to be stabbed by that thing, the shock alone could kill her. She knew that she had to move, but there was no way that she could fight back in her state! What was she to do?

“RUN!” Trixie’s ears twitched. Run? She shook her head. Running wasn’t an option. “RUN, TRIXIE! SHE’S GONNA KILL YA!”

Trixie slowly turned her head towards the crowd. There were many ponies shouting and calling out to Melody, pleading for her to stop. But the one pony that stood out was the blue one flying in the air, with a rainbow mane and wide, rose-coloured eyes. Eyes that were trembling in terror.

“DAMNIT, GET OUT OF THERE!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “FORGET THE STUPID CONTEST! JUST RUN AWAY ALREADY!”

Trixie turned back towards Melody, who simply looked amused at the pegasus’ outburst. “You can’t do that, though, can you?” Melody asked. “Running away would be admitting defeat. And the Great and Powerful Trixie never admits defeat.”

“Fighting is the only way I can win,” Trixie muttered as her attention turned to the floor beneath her hooves. “If I run away, the world will consume me. If I want to be the Great and Powerful Trixie, I must never give in… I must always fight…”

“DARN IT, WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!” Trixie did not move. “YOU THINK YOU’RE BEING COOL OR SOMETHING?! HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE GREAT AND POWERFUL IF YOU’RE DEAD?!” Trixie’s ear twitched, but she still remained still. “… TRIXIE, GET OUT OF THERE! I DON’T WANT YOU TO DIE!”

Trixie gasped. She moved her head quickly to the side. It may have just been her eyes playing tricks on her, but when Trixie’s gaze met Rainbow Dash’s, she saw tears. Tears and desperation in her eyes. “Dash…”

“WHO CARES IF YOU LOSE?! JUST… JUST GET OUT OF THERE! ALL THAT MATTERS IS YOU’RE ALIVE, SO WE CAN… SO WE CAN SPEND MORE TIME TOGETHER, Y’KNOW?!”

“Too late,” Melody said as she swung her sword down. AS her sword collided with the floor, a puff of smoke erupted around where Trixie’s body was just moments ago, startling Melody and forcing her to jump back. “A smoke bomb…” Melody looked up and used her magic to blow the smoke aside, grinning as she watched the retreating form of Trixie Lulamoon in the distance. “So she fled… making me the victor.”

“Trixie!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she took off after the fleeing unicorn.

“I’ve got it!” a voice called out from the crowd. Melody turned her attention towards the purple alicorn standing at the front of the crowd, her horn glowing brightly as the invisible barrier around the stage began to waver.

Melody stood up tall and proud and gave a bow to her audience. “Well then, that brings this little contest to a close!” Melody declared as she pulled her flute up to her lips once more.

“Wait!” Twilight shouted as the barrier broke, granting her access now to the stage.

“Ciao!” Melody blew into her flute and her horn sparked to life. The ground shook as powerful vibration were produced from Melody’s flute and Twilight could only fall to her flanks as she watched a gust of wind envelope the musician on the stage. When the wind dispersed, Melody was gone.

Rainbow Dash pushed the door to Trixie’s trailer open. She peered her head inside and found that the blinds inside had been drawn closed, making the inside of the trailer exceptionally dark. Looking over to the bed, Rainbow found a lump under the covers that was vaguely equine in shape. “Uh, hey.”

“Go away,” the lump said in a muffled voice. “The Great and Powerful Trixie isn’t in the mood to sign autographs right now.”

“It’s me,” Rainbow Dash said, entering the trailer and closing the door behind her with her tail.

“Oh,” Trixie responded as she pulled her covers down and turned to look at Rainbow Dash. Even in the dark, Rainbow could see the puffiness around Trixie’s eyes. “… I lost.”

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly. “Well, yeah. But you survived…”

“At what cost though?” Trixie asked as she turned her back to the pegasus. “Trixie’s alive, but she’s also a failure. Now all that she’s succeeded in doing is adding more fuel to the fire for hecklers everywhere.”

“But you can redeem yourself,” Rainbow Dash suggested. “You can make up for this loss with a good performance, right?”

Trixie scoffed. “You don’t understand. Having your lie exposed and stories spreading about your ‘temporary insanity’ is one thing. But this was just a regular old pony, and Trixie lost to her. The Great and Powerful Trixie never loses… Never…”

Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated groan and grabbed Trixie’s shoulders, spinning the mare around quickly so that their eyes met. “Look, Trixie! I get that you’re frustrated that you lost. Even I get like that! Heck, I’d be the first pony to get where you’re coming from. But the important thing is: you’re alive and well. If you hadn’t run away back then, you would never have the chance to redeem yourself, and I…”

“… You what?” Trixie asked, remaining silent afterwards as she waited for Rainbow’s answer.

“… I don’t know,” Rainbow said silently. “I don’t know what I would have done. Most likely, I would charged right up to that mare and beat her until she died.”

“We can’t have that,” Trixie said with an uneasy grin. “But even so, I ran away like a frightened little filly.”

“Running away doesn’t mean you’re a coward,” Rainbow Dash said. “It means you’re brave enough to live and fight another day. If you had just sat there and let your life end like that, without even fighting back, that would have been the coward’s way out. Not to mention totally uncool, and stupid.”

“… Did Trixie really frighten you up there?” Trixie asked. She noticed the blush on Rainbow Dash’s face as she nodded and couldn’t help but let out a momentary giggle. “Sorry about that… Maybe… Maybe you’re right. Maybe this is a chance to make up for the loss I’ve endured.”

“That’s what a Great and Powerful pony would do,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You know, Trixie ran away because of what you said… Trixie wants to spend more time with you, too.” Rainbow Dash smiled, thought Trixie didn’t seem to notice as more thoughts were still plaguing her mind. “But what about the crowd of hecklers sure to pounce on Trixie now?” Trixie asked, a look of worry spread across her face. “If performing before them was hard previously, it will be impossible by now.”

“Are ya forgetting?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You have the most awesome pony in Ponyville backin’ you up. They won’t lay a hoof on you, and they’ll all bite their tongues as soon as I enter the scene.” A smile formed on Trixie’s face. “And not to mention the others will be there, too. They can smooth things over, no prob. You’ll see.”

“… These have been problems that have plagued Trixie for the past year… No. Hecklers and unruly crowds have always been a threat to Trixie, ever since her performing began. But now, you’re saying it can be resolved, just like that?”

“I’m not makin’ any promises,” Rainbow Dash said as she pulled Trixie into a hug, “But at the very least, we’ll be by your side, helping you to win the crowd over and supporting you if things don’t go as planned. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make you forget about those bad memories.”

“Whatever it takes?” Trixie asked. Rainbow Dash nodded and wrapped her wings around the trembling showmare. “… In that case, don’t leave Trixie’s trailer tonight.”

“You got it.”

“And could you…” Trixie felt her face heating up as she realised what she was about to ask. “Could you just lay here with Trixie in your forelegs for a bit?”

“You want cuddles?” Rainbow asked in a teasing tone. She received no verbal response but could see the obvious colour change on the showmare’s face, which forced her to laugh. “Sure, you got it.”

“And maybe a quick hoof massage to-”

“Don’t push it,” Rainbow Dash said with a laugh. Trixie laughed too, and that made Rainbow feel much more at ease. ‘It looks like she’ll be okay.’

‘This mare is impossible,’ Trixie thought to herself. ‘My entire life, failure has practically meant death for me. But now, when I have suffered a most disgraceful defeat, this pegasus comes in and makes it all okay, as if there was never anything wrong with losing a battle. With her… I don’t even care about winning or losing.’

“Thank you,” Trixie mouthed silently as she closed her eyes and rested her head against Rainbow Dash’s chest. ‘Thanks for being somepony I can rely on.’

A new morning meant a new day. Trixie Lulamoon woke up feeling better than she would have thought after her defeat the previous night. She couldn’t was the bitter taste of defeat out of her mouth, and she couldn’t shake the awful memory of having to run away with her tail between her legs from her opponent. But at the same time, she didn’t care.

All she could think about was how warm her body was in the gentle hold of her marefriend beside her, how thankful she was that Rainbow Dash stayed by her side despite her loss, and happy she was that at least Rainbow Dash still believed in her. At this point the opinions of other ponies didn’t matter to her.

‘… Well, not as much as they usually do, at least,’ Trixie thought to herself as she ran the brush through her mane one final time before donning her hat and her cape. “It’s time for Trixie to head out now.”

“You can’t stay a little longer?” Rainbow asked as she followed Trixie outside of her trailer, where two colts – Snips and Snails – were waiting.

“Good mornin’, Great and Powerful Trixie!” Snails shouted as he waved to Trixie.

“We heard you were leaving,” Snips told her, “So we came to see you off!”

“How did you hear that Trixie was leaving?” Trixie asked with a raised eyebrow. “You haven’t been snooping around Trixie’s trailer, have you?”

“No no no no!” the two colts said as they shook their heads quickly.

“There’s this kid at school,” Snips explained. “He’s real good at getting information from every corner of Ponyville, and he put details of your show last night in the school’s newspaper!”

“Is that so?” Trixie asked. “Well, Trixie supposes that you made it in time. She was just about to leave.”

“But you’ll come back, right?!” Snips asked.

“We still wanna learn lottsa awesome magic from you!” Snails added.

“Now listen here, you two,” Trixie started, “The Great and Powerful Trixie has no intention to-”

“What Trixie means!” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Is that she’d be more than happy to teach you guys a thing or two when she comes back. And don’t worry, it’ll be soon!”

“Awesome!”

“Alright!”

Trixie shot Rainbow Dash a glare. “What was that for?”

“You need more friends,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. Trixie clearly wasn’t amused. “Also, you keep complaining about ponies not liking your show. Why make enemies of two who can’t get enough of your shows.

Trixie sighed. “Trixie has a feeling that she is going to regret this, but she has no time to debate it if she wishes to make it to Manehatten in good time.”

“I still say you should take the train.”

“But then Trixie would miss small villages on her way. And besides, Trixie prefers the scenic route.”

As Trixie climbed up onto the front of her trailer and sat down, she and Rainbow Dash shared a quick farewell kiss. They heard a gag and a gasp from the direction of the two colts and turned to glare at them.

“Oh, uh… C’mon Snails, let’s go!” Snips said, nudging his friend before taking off. Snails followed after him, leaving the two alone to share another, uninterrupted farewell kiss.

“Trixie will be back soon,” Trixie assured Rainbow Dash. “She’ll take the train back, so expect her return four days from now.”

“Guess I’ll hang out with the others ‘til then,” Rainbow Dash said as she flapped her wings to gain some lift. “Gotta admit, I’ve kinda been neglecting them lately. Hay, I’ll be surprised if they even remember what one of my rainbow-flips looks like at this point!”

With a giggle, Trixie’s horn lit up under her hat and a purple aura surrounded her trailer’s wheels, causing them to rotate and sending the showmare on her way. “Tell the others goodbye for Trixie!”

“Will do!” Rainbow Dash said as she waved goodbye from the air, turning around and taking off for her home after Trixie was out of sight.

“It’s still quite early,” Trixie said to herself as she used her magic to pull out a map of Equestria, “But there will be time for rest later. For now, Trixie must-” Trixie stopped, both her speaking and her magic, as she noticed somepony standing in the road before her.

“Good morning,” Melody said as Trixie’s trailer stopped in front of her. Trixie jumped off and glared at the mare. “I won last night’s duel.”

“… So you did,” Trixie responded. She didn’t have much else to say. She was upset that she had lost. She was angry that Melody had almost killed her. She was fuming that Melody had come to rub her defeat in the showmare’s face. But Melody had honoured her end of the bargain and not harmed the town. Trixie had lost the duel, but it was a duel that she had accepted…

“Even after all that, you still don’t see me as a rival, huh?” Melody asked.

Trixie simply shrugged. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Guess it can’t be helped…” Melody’s next action caught Trixie completely off guard. Melody stepped forward and locked her lips with Trixie’s, taking just a few seconds to savour the feeling before pulling back just in time to avoid the showmare’s furious roundhouse kick.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!”

“Juuuuust had to have at least that much before I left,” Melody said with a wink. “I’m a wanted criminal, y’know? Got the whole Royal Guard on my tail.”

“Is that so? It still doesn’t explain what you’re doing stealing a kiss from the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Well, I’ve got to leave the country for a bit,” Melody said. “I’m thinking of heading out west and visiting the zebra tribes. I hear they have some interesting musical styles.”

“What does that have to do with-”

“But before leaving, I had to pay a visit to Ponyville,” Melody continued. “I had to come and pay my ‘respects’ to Twilight Sparkle. After all, it was effectively her that had destroyed your career. But moreso than that, ever since the Great and Powerful Trixie’s show became a laughing stock, it became harder and harder to track you down. It even came to the point where I had suspected you dropped dead suddenly, and it was impossible to find you by then.

“Thinking that my chance at challenging you one final time had been destroyed, I came to Ponyville to destroy Twilight Sparkle for what she had done. What luck that I would just happen to run into you on that day… I was able to challenge you, show you how much stronger I have become in the years that have passed, and I was able to express my feelings for you.”

Trixie took a step back, her eyes wide. “Y-Your feelings? Hold on, you don’t mean-”

“That pegasus beat me to the punch though, huh?” Melody asked with a sigh. “Well, the important thing is that now, I can leave without any regrets.”

“… Hold on. Trixie is confused. If you loved Trixie, why did you go out of your way to try to kill her?”

Melody put a hoof to her chin and hummed in thought. “I guess that’s just my way of expressing it,” she answered with a style. “Some prefer roses or cheesy music outside a window. I wanted to show you I was stronger than you are and defeat you. Of course, when I heard that you already had a marefriend, I guess I took that a little badly.”

“You think?!”

“But I’m over it now!” Melody assured Trixie. “Well, not really. But I never kill outside of a show or a duel, and I don’t really have time to challenge you again, so I guess I have to leave it at that.”

“… You are insane!” Trixie shouted. “How the hay did you graduate from Celestia’s School, exactly?”

“You’d be surprised! Just about everypony who graduates that school is a nutter in some way. Anyway, here.” Melody used her magic to levitate her flute towards Trixie. “I want you to have this.”

“A flute? Trixie doesn’t want it.” Trixie said, using her own magic to try to push it back.

“I want you to have it to remember me by,” Melody said. “Even if not as your rival or your lover, at least remember me in some way.”

“But I-” Trixie stared at the flute in thought for a moment. ‘She wants to be remembered? Yeah, I know that feeling. But…’ With a sigh, Trixie pulled the flute towards herself and examined it. It seemed to be made out of crystals, and had three different jewels along its length – a sapphire on the far left, followed by a golden beryl in the middle, and finally, a ruby on the far right.

‘The crystals must be to enhance her magic as she channels it through her music,’ Trixie thought to herself. ‘The jewels… are probably for show. Or perhaps… Maybe she knows some colour-magic, too?’

“Trixie will take this,” Trixie said. “Because Trixie is letting you go now, as you won our duel last night, Trixie will need something to remind her to kick your flank if you ever show your face to her again.”

“Thank you!” Melody said as she turned around. “You’re a kinder pony than you were back in the day. What happened?”

“What do you mean?” Trixie asked. “Trixie is still as cold and calculated as always. That’s the way you survive when you’re alone.”

“But you’re not alone now,” Melody pointed out. “Is that why you’re softer than you were back then?” Before Trixie could answer, Melody pulled out a long silver flute from her beg and played a song through it. In just a few seconds, a pack of five timberwolves were at her side. She climbed on top of one of them and ordered them to move. “Ciao!”

Trixie watched as the wolves carried Melody away, Melody’s song continuing to play in the distance as she moved further and further away.

“I’m softer?” Trixie asked herself as soon as Melody was out of sight. “I’m kinder than I was before?” Trixie thought back on the last few years of her life. “Well, yeah. Trixie has obviously matured since her teen years. But…” Trixie narrowed her thoughts to simply the last few days, and she smiled. “Trixie is also happier than she once was… She doesn’t even care that she lost to some crazy mare from her past.”

Trixie sighed and climbed back onto her trailer, starting her magic up again and moving on down the road. “That Rainbow Dash must be some master magician,” Trixie said to herself, “To have cast a spell this powerful on me.”

Author's Note

A showdown, not of the xiaolin variety (god I love that show).

Anywhom, here's Trixie's big match with Melody. Not gonna lie, had a bit of trouble writing some of the scenes here -_-;;

Moving on though, next arc will possibly be for any Scootaloo fans out there :) So enjoy that... whenever it may come out.

13 - A Child's Crush (Part I)

Scootaloo – a young pegasus filly who loves sports, adventure, and all things fun. What she really loves is the Wonderbolts. Ever since her first show when she was only four years old, Scootaloo had dreamed of one day being able to fly alongside her heroes and show off her amazing flying before crowds of ponies. It was for this dream that Scootaloo would work hard day-and-night at improving her body-

“Scootaloo!” Cheerilee shouted from the front of the class, startling the snoozing pegasus out of her slumber and snapping her to attention. “This is the fourth time today! Have you not been staying up late again?”

“Uh… no, ma’am,” Scootaloo said in a drowsy tone, lifting a hoof up to wipe the drool hanging from her mouth. The ponies around her laughed.

“I’ve told you before: a rested mind is a healthy mind,” Cheerilee said, approaching Scootaloo’s desk with a stack of paper on her back. “It is also the key to not earning extra homework that will take up your free time,” she added, placing the papers onto Scootaloo’s desk. “I want these extra questions answered by tomorrow.”

“Uh-huh…” Scootaloo nodded her head, staring down at the papers with a frown on her face. She heard more giggling, which was silenced by Cheerilee as the teacher made her way back towards the front of the class. ‘Darn it.’

It was for her dream that Scootaloo worked so hard day-and-night into improving her body, though it came at the cost of her other schoolwork. Not that she really cared about her grades. Her dream was to a Wonderbolt, after all. What should her grades matter?

Scootaloo yawned and stretched out her forelegs. Looking over to the clock told her that there were still thirty minutes of the lesson remaining. Scootaloo looked around the class, hoping that there was something interesting to distract her. To her left was the white unicorn filly whose name she wasn’t so sure of. Sweet Evil, she thought. She certainly looked the part, if Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were anything to go by. She wasn’t sure if she was their friend or anything, but considering her sister was also one of the hoity-toity ponies, she didn’t really care to find out.

Scootaloo’s gaze shifted to Silver Spoon. This filly and her friend Diamond Tiara were unbearable. Not just because they could get away with anything by putting on cute faces to the teacher, but because they constantly enjoyed flaunting their wealth and good fortune to the rest of the class, both of them just hoping it would make the other foals totally jealous. And it worked on Scootaloo, at the very least.

Sitting beside Silver Spoon was the yellow earth pony Apple Bloom. Scootaloo didn’t know her all that well, other than that she was mischievous. Whilst Scootaloo loved mischief just as much as anypony else, she doubted she would ever become friends with this one. For one, Apple Bloom was just a bit too loud, and for another, she was friends with Twist. Scootaloo was not going to associate herself with the class nerd. It just wouldn’t be good for her street cred.

Scootaloo brought a hoof to her mouth as she yawned once more, closing her eyes and slowly leaning forward… BAM!

The entire class turned to the source of the noise to find a teary-eyed Scootaloo inhaling sharply through her teeth as she held both of her hooves to her forehead and laughter soon broke out.

Scootaloo rubbed the sore spot on her forehead covered by a bandage, cringing at the pain it caused as she quickly pulled her hoof away.

“Were you up late doing push-ups in your room again?” Alula asked from her spot behind Scootaloo as the pegasus foals of the class lined up to take turns using the long-jump area outside of the schoolhouse.

“Not just push-ups,” Scootaloo told her. “I also did sit-ups and squats.”

“You do that every night,” Archer said from her spot in front of Scootaloo, turning around to face the two other fillies. “Why is it that you still can’t fly?”

Scootaloo turned to glare at Archer. “Hey, I’m still growing!” she told her. “My mum said that pegasi who learn to fly slow always become the best fliers!”

“Hey, I’m just saying,” Archer said, holding her hooves up. “I mean, it would be one thing if you were just growing slowly, but you haven’t made any progress at all in a whole year.”

Scootaloo flinched. Despite all the assurance her mother had given her, Scootaloo knew that there was indeed something else going on other than just her body developing slowly. After all, why else would her parents have booked her an appointment with the hospital if there wasn’t any serious problem?

“Hey, it’s your turn,” Alula told Archer. The blue filly quickly turned back and ran forward, jumping off of the springboard and spreading her wings to glide through the air, gaining some lift with a few flaps. After landing, she looked down at her hind legs and pumped a forehoof into the air. “Looks like she beat her old record.”

“Yeah…” Scootaloo ignored the whistle blown by Blossomforth.

“Hey, you’ll do fine,” Alula assured Scootaloo, reaching a hoof to her back giving her a gentle nudge forward. “I’m rootin’ for ya!”

With a smile, Scootaloo nodded, then turned towards the springboard. With an energy-filled battle cry, she bounced off of the board and spread out her wings… “No!” Scootaloo shouted as she glided to the exact same spot that she had always landed at. “No no no NO!” Blossomforth had to approach the filly and calm her down before she would stop stamping her hoof into the sand.

Scootaloo spent the rest of that session sitting out on the sidelines, her head buried in her knees as she questioned furiously in her own mind, ‘Why me?’

The following day was a Saturday. Like most foals her age, Scootaloo was outside and enjoying herself in the warmth of the sun. Her father had been called in by his boss at the weather factory to fill in for a colleague, but thankfully her mother, a young, brown-coated pegasus mare with a yellow mane, was still free to watch Scootaloo show how far she had come with her new scooter.

Her scooter was a present from her aunt on her last birthday. Whilst at first she thought it was ‘dorky’ and ‘uncool’, after giving the thing a try and finding out she could perform a variety of tricks and use her wings to make it move really fast, Scootaloo became much more attached to her scooter, practically taking it with her everywhere that she went.

After stopping to enjoy a light lunch with her mother, Scootaloo’s spirits lowered as she knew that the dreaded hour was approaching. The hour that she would have to make a visit to the second-most unhappy place in the world, the most unhappy of course being Minuette’s Dentistry.

“Do I really have to go?” Scootaloo asked as she stared down at her half-eaten sandwich, wondering if eating her lunch slowly might make her miss her appointment.

“I know you don’t like visiting the Foaliatrician Centre, but you have to go so that Doctor Foal Check can take a look at your wings.”

“I thought you said there wasn’t anything wrong with them.”

“I did,” Scootaloo’s mother said, “But it never hurts to be safe. It might be that you just need some minor wing surgery. Sometimes a pegasus’ wings can be broken in such a way that the pegasus feels nothing, and a simple operation will fix that so that they can fly again.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Scootaloo muttered.

“You’ve had surgery before,” her mother pointed out. “Remember when you had to have your tonsils removed, and you were such a brave girl during the whole thing?”

“I was four,” Scootaloo deadpanned. “I didn’t even know what was going on. I don’t even remember most of it!”

“Well I can promise you that wing surgery is simple and mostly harmless.” Scootaloo’s mother laughed, tough Scootaloo herself found it far less amusing. “Now finish your lunch, quickly.”

“Fiiiine…” Despite her hatred of Doctor Foal Check and her fear of potential surgery, Scootaloo couldn’t deny that she was thankful that whatever was wrong with her wings could be fixed with such a simple treatment. If the operation didn’t exist, it would mean that her dream of joining the Wonderbolts would be over before it could even take off, and that would be truly terrible.

The Foaliatrician Centre was relatively empty that day, or at least when Scootaloo got there it was. The only other ponies in the waiting beside herself and her mother were Dinky Hooves and her mother, both playing with the bead activity table in the corner as Scootaloo assumed they waited for their own appointment.

Five minutes later Dinky and Derpy were called in by Doctor Foal Check, and another ten minutes after that the two came out again. Dinky was smiling as she walked out into the waiting room with a candy lollipop in her hoof, licking it as she followed her mother to the reception desk.

The sight made Scootaloo feel more at ease, at least a little bit. She did enjoy a nice candy treat after her appointment, and if a pony like Dinky could get through an appointment with a smile on her face, then there was no reason why the much-tougher Scootaloo shouldn’t be able to do the same.

“Scootaloo?” Scootaloo’s wings shot out to their sides as the filly froze at her name being called. “Doctor Foal Check will see you now.”

“C’mon, Scoots,” Scootaloo’s mother said as she held her daughter’s hoof and climbed out of her seat.

Scootaloo nodded and followed after her mother into the doctor’s office. There, she found the grey-coated unicorn stallion with the crazy, spiked white hair sitting at his desk, spiral goggles and white lab coat on him as always.

“Scootaloo! My favourite young flyer!”

Scootaloo’s frown was already at maximum in just two seconds. That must have been a record.

“Very funny,” Scootaloo said in a sarcastic tone as she sat on the chair opposite of the doctor, who was laughing loudly at her expense.

“Oh, come now! I hear that you’re having trouble developing your flight, but I also hear that you work hard at it every day. With that kind of determination, it will only be a matter of time before you’re up there with your dad busting clouds.”

“Scootaloo is actually aspiring to join the Wonderbolts,” Scootaloo’s mother said as she sat beside her daughter, patting her on the head and bringing a smile back to her face.

“Well! I suppose I had better get my autograph now while I still have the chance!” The doctor guffawed while Scootaloo’s mother giggled. Scootaloo simple rolled her eyes and sighed. “Anyway, slow wing development is more common than you might think. I’m sure there is nothing to worry about.”

“That’s what I thought,” Scootaloo’s mother said, “But what if one or both of her wings are out of shape?”

“Obviously I will run a quick X-ray to check, but in such a case a simple operation will fix her right up. I just need Scootaloo to stand up and extend her wings for me.”

Scootaloo turned to her mother, who nodded. She stood up and walked into the centre of the room as Foal Check instructed, then extended her wings. “Is this gonna hurt?” Scootaloo asked, trying not to let her worry show in her voice.

“Not at all,” Foal Check told her, putting the filly’s mind at ease. That is, until he pulled out a large, scary-looking machine from behind a curtain and pushed it towards her, placing her wing in the opening of it. “This is an X-ray, Scootaloo. What it does is essentially take a picture of the inside of your wings, so that we can see if your wings are out of shape and if so, where.”

“You won’t feel a thing,” Scootaloo’s mother assured her daughter. “Just two quick pictures. That’s all it is.”

Scootaloo nodded, though she still didn’t feel comfortable with the colossal machine thing standing beside her, especially not when it began to whir loudly. It stopped after a few second, and the doctor moved it to her other wing.

“Okay! All done,” Foal Check announced as he pulled the machine away. With a sigh, Scootaloo moved back to her seat and sat back down as she waited for the news. However, nothing came. Foal Check was silent as he made his way back to his desk and sat down before the two. Something didn’t feel right. Scootaloo looked to her mother with a worried look, and her mother seemed to be just as worried.

“What is it?” Scootaloo’s mother asked.

“… It’s… It’s hard to say.” Foal Check’s voice lacked its usual cheeriness and enthusiasm that Scootaloo was used to hearing. He took in a deep breath and pulled up his goggles, revealing his dark-brown eyes, looking at the two with a seriousness she’d never seen in the doctor before. “I’m… afraid your daughter has grounded-wingitis.”

Scootaloo didn’t like the sound of that. She grabbed her mother’s hoof as she felt it touch her shoulder. “What’s that?” her mother asked.

“It’s a condition where either a pegasus’ wing bone grown improperly, or insufficiently,” the doctor explained. “In Scootaloo’s case… it is the latter. Her wings stopped growing too soon.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened, and the world seemed to crumble around her as Foal Check went in-depth about what exactly her condition was, and what it entailed. She didn’t understand most of it. The majority of the things he said simply went over her head. But there was one thing that stuck with her. One word that she understood perfectly, and that echoed through her mind as the rest of the conversation simply flew by her.

“Untreatable.”

Scootaloo was silent the entire journey home. She was also silent upon her return. Everything that her mother said fell upon deaf ears. Even her offer to make Scootaloo’s favourite dinner, or when she asked if Scootaloo would like to play catch with her father that evening. Scootaloo simply walked up to her room and closed the door without so much as a single word.

As she looked around her room, at all of the Wonderbolts-themed items laying around, from the posters on her wall, to her bedcovers and her nightlight, and to the stack of magazines she had been collecting since she was five years old, something inside of Scootaloo snapped.

“IT’S NOT FAIR!” Scootaloo shouted as she slammed a hoof into the floorboards, biting her lip as she stared at her bed. She ran over to it and removed the covers, throwing them to the side, before grabbing her nightlight and throwing it against the wall. She then made her way towards her magazines and pushed them over, but decided that that wasn’t enough and started to throw them one-by-one into her bin. “WHAT’S THE POINT?! WHY SHOULD I EVEN CARE ANY MORE?!”

“Scootaloo! What’s wrong?!” Scootaloo’s mother called from outside her room. Without waiting for a response, she opened the door and gasped as she saw Scootaloo tearing her posters from her wall, her room a complete mess. “SCOOTALOO!”

Scootaloo grabbed her scooter and prepared to swing into the wall, but she was stopped when a pair of hooves grabbed her from behind. She turned her head to find her mother holding her. “What are you doing?!” Scootaloo’s mother asked her. “Why are you destroying everything like this?!”

“Well what does it matter now?!” Scootaloo shouted as she threw her scooter to the side, pushing forward into her mum’s chest and letting her tears out and she nestled into her fur. “I can’t fly, right?! I’ll never be a Wonderbolt, so what’s the point?!”

“Scootaloo-”

“IT’S NOT FAIR, MUM! WHY ME?! WHY?!”

Scootaloo’s mother said nothing. Instead, she held her daughter close as she finally let out all of the tears and frustration that she had been holding in. “Sweetie,” she said as Scootaloo’s sobbing began to quiet down, “It will be okay. I know that things look bad now, but trust me. It will all be okay.”

“… You sure?” Scootaloo asked. Her mother gently placed a hoof around her head and held her daughter closer.

“I’m sure.”

The following morning, Scootaloo woke up early to find her room still a complete mess from last night’s rampage. Her mind was still a storm of mixed negative emotions, but for the most part her anger was no longer there. She simply stared off into space for a few moments, her expression never changing, and eventually climbed out of her bed and made her way towards her scooter.

She told her parents that she was going to do a few laps around Ponyville. She didn’t know if it would help, but she just wanted something to take her mind off of things. Her mother tried to stop her, but her father agreed that the morning air might do her some good.

She couldn’t feel it doing any good, though. As she rode through the town, picking up speed occasionally and slowing down to a steady roll at other times, nothing that Scootaloo saw was able to help her forget about the diagnosis she had received yesterday.

Eventually, Scootaloo came to a small ravine just outside of town and realised that she must have wandered too far. She turned around to head back, but stopped and turned back to the ravine for a moment. It was only a small gap, and the slope leading down towards it tilted up at the edge, providing a nice natural ramp for gaining some altitude.

“… I’ll show that guy,” Scootaloo said as she turned back to the ravine, kicking her hoof against the ground to build up some speed. “I CAN TOO FLY!”

As Scootaloo drew closer and closer to the ravine, the size of the gap started to feel a lot bigger to her. She began to slow down, but quickly shook off the feeling and continued on her set course. “I can do this,” she said quietly to herself. “I can do this. I can do this. I-” Scootaloo stopped as she neared the ramp. “I CAN’T DO THIS!” she shouted, trying to stomp her hoof into the ground to stop herself. But it was too late; her leg pushing against the ground only served to increase her speed further at this point, and before long she was already up the ramp and in the air. And she wasn’t going to make it. She couldn’t fly, she knew that.

Panicking, Scootaloo did the only thing she could. She flapped her little wings as hard as she could. She pulled up on the handlebar of her scooter and flapped her wings, keeping her eyes shut the entire time and praying for a miracle.

When she felt her scooter make contact with a solid surface, Scootaloo didn’t open her eyes right away. It was when the realisation that she was still alive dawned on her that she dared to crack one eye open.

Just in time to see the tree that she was about to collide with.

CRASH!

Scootaloo groaned and picked herself up off of the floor, holding her head as she tried to keep her balance, the world spinning around her. “Ow… That hurt…”

“Hey!” a voice called out overhead. “You alright down there?!”

Scootaloo looked up into the air to see who was calling her. All that she was a blue blur zooming towards her, and the next second, a blue pegasus mare with a rainbow mane was standing before Scootaloo, reaching out a hoof to hold the filly in place as she examined her.

“You don’t look too banged up,” the pegasus said.

“W-Who are you?” Scootaloo asked.

“The name’s Rainbow Dash,” the pegasus answered with a grin. “You might have heard of me. Kind of a big deal. Future Wonderbolt an’ all that.”

“Oh! I know now! My mum always talks about how much of a show-off you are.”

“… Yeah, well… I saw what you did just now. That jump an’ all.” Scootaloo looked down at the floor with an uneasy look on her face. “That was awesome!” Rainbow Dash said, before leaning down to look Scootaloo in the eyes. “But it was also stupid. What were you thinking?”

“I… I wasn’t,” Scootaloo said. “I was just… I just wanted to fly, so bad,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “I-It’s my dream… It was my dream, to join the Wonderbolts one day.”

“Good dream,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin.

“But it’s no good!” Scootaloo shouted. “I can’t fly! I’ll never fly! Never, never!”

“Whoa, hey! Calm down there. What do you mean you’ll never fly?” After calming down, Scootaloo told Rainbow Dash all about the condition Doctor Foal Check told her about the day before. Or at least, the parts that she understood.

“I’m never gonna be able to fly,” Scootaloo said when she was finished. “I’m useless without my wings. The Wonderbolts are what I’ve been aiming for since I first saw them perform, but now I’ve got no chance…”

“Hey, c’mon now. Don’t be like that.”

“But I’m a failure!” Scootaloo shouted. “What kind of pegasus can’t even fly?!”

“Hey! You’re not a failure just ‘cause you can’t fly!” Scootaloo huffed and turned her head away. “Look, you shouldn’t throw in the towel just because of one setback. I mean, you’re still young! Who knows what good things are gonna come your way?”

“I’m not good at anything though.”

“Really? ‘Cause y’know, that ravine you just jumped over doesn’t look big, but not earth pony or unicorn could get across something like that.”

“It’s only ‘cause of my scooter…”

“Even with your scooter, anypony who can’t fly would usually fall before making it even halfway across that gap. Seriously kid, you got talent.”

“… You think so?”

“I know so! Even if you can’t fly, there are other ways to soar.” Rainbow Dash rose to her hooves and picked up the scooter lying on the floor not far from the two. “Still in one piece. Come on, kid. We should get you back to town.”

Scootaloo grabbed her scooter from Rainbow Dash and nodded. “Um, my name’s Scootaloo…”

“Cool name!” Scootaloo smiled at that. Rainbow Dash turned around and spread her wings. “Climb on. I’ll fly you back across.”

With a nod, Scootaloo climbed onto Rainbow Dash’s back. Rainbow Dash pushed up into the air suddenly, flying faster than either of Scootaloo’s parents, causing the filly to scream as she found herself suddenly shooting through the sky.

Rainbow Dash slowed down, laughing as she looked over her shoulder at the dazed filly, laughing even louder when she saw the state of her mane. “Sorry ‘bout that. Too fast for ya?”

“Too fast?” Scootaloo asked as she composed herself. With a grin, she said, “Too slow!”

Rainbow Dash returned the grin. “In that case, you’d better hold on tight!”

For the next ten minutes, a rainbow trail circled overhead above Ponyville, alongside the sounds of a young filly cheering.

Rainbow Dash decided that she had sufficiently cheered Scootaloo up and slowed down as she descended towards the ground, much to the filly’s disappointment. “Sorry kid, but I got plans with a friend.”

“Um… y-you’re not gonna tell my parents about this, are you?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash gave her a confused look. “Y’know, about me… jumping that ravine?”

“Oh, that… Tell ya what, kid: don’t do something that dangerous again, and I’ll let it slide.” Scootaloo smiled. “Also, don’t call it quits so easily! You’re not a failure. Keep working on that scooter of yours and you’ll go far!”

Scootaloo gave an enthusiastic nod. “I will! I’ll show ‘em! I’ll soar through the sky even without the ability to fly!”

“That’s the spirit!” Rainbow Dash said as she patted Scootaloo’s head. She then spread out her wings and took off into the sky. “Catch ya later, kid!”

“Goodbye!” Scootaloo called after Rainbow Dash as she flew away towards the apple orchard in the distance. “Thanks for your help!”

After Rainbow Dash had left, Scootaloo kept watch on the rainbow trail that followed her into the distance. She then took a step forward, and almost stumbled over. “Whoa! … Still a little dizzy from that flight…”

Scootaloo noticed something in the air. In the distance, she could see Rainbow Dash looping around daringly before waving to her. “Awesome…” she said as she watched the rainbow pegasus in the distance. She then looked down at her scooter and gave a determined smile. “One day… One day, I’m gonna be as awesome as her!”

Author's Note

So probably not the kinda chapter you were expecting after 3 weeks of watiing. Not even a single hint of Trixie and only a slither of Rainbow Dash. But, uh... L-Look, a distraction!

Also, as for when exactly this chapter takes place, feel free to make your own call on that, but in my mind it takes place roughly a year before the start of the show.

14 - Two's Company, Three's A Crowd (Part II)

“‘Five miles to Ponyville’,” Trixie read off of a sign as she passed it by. “Almost there now. And the Great and Powerful Trixie has a surprise for Dashie when she arrives.” Trixie smirked as she reached into her cape with her magic and pulled out a thin envelope. “My show could have gone better, but at least I got this.”

Trixie put the envelope away and returned her eyes to the road, where she saw a large figure standing before her. Quickly reversing the flow of her magic caused the trailer to come to a very abrupt stop, almost throwing Trixie off of it if it weren’t for the new rail Applejack had attached to the front before she left Ponyville.

“Hey!” Trixie shouted, startling the griffon that was staring off into the distance. The griffon turned around and glared at Trixie, causing her to sweat as she glared back. “What are you doing standing in the middle of the road like that? You could have damaged Trixie’s trailer!”

“None of your business!” the griffon shouted as she took off into the air, flying past Trixie’s trailer and away from Ponyville.

“… Honestly. Some sentient life forms are just rude,” Trixie said as she restarted her magic around her wheels, continuing her pleasant ride towards Ponyville. “Huh… That flying technique looked more pony than griffon… Well, whatever. Only four-and-a-half miles left to travel.”

As Trixie drew closer and closer towards the town of Ponyville, her encounter with the griffon earlier faded out of her mind until she no longer gave it any notice. For now, she had a much more pressing matter to attend to. One luck pegasus pony was about to receive a very… ‘awesome’ gift, as said pegasus was likely to put it.

“And then I said ‘because she’s qauckers!’” Rainbow Dash and Applejack both laughed along with Pinkie Pie’s story whilst their other friends sat to the other side of the picnic blanket discussing something else. “So anyway,” Pinkie continued as she calmed down and wiped a tear from her eye, “That’s why I got a salary cut this month.”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were, by this point, no longer laughing. Instead they exchanged confused looks at Pinkie Pie’s last statement. “Wait, that actually happened?” Rainbow asked.

Pinkie Pie nodded. “Yuh-huh! Well, except it wasn’t a genie granting me wishes. It was just Discord pulling my legs.”

“Rightly so,” Discord said from his seat atop Rainbow’s head.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack yelped as they quickly moved away from the sudden draconequus interrupting their picnic, who remained floating in the air as if Rainbow Dash’s head was still beneath him.

“W-When’d you get here?!” Rainbow asked with an angry look on her face.

“I’ve been here the entire time,” Discord calmly stated as he lifted a teacup from the blanket as took a sip of the air inside it. “I was just remaining silent while my good friend Pinkamena Pie here told her story.”

“‘Good friend’, huh?” Applejack asked in a sceptical tone as she turned a questioning eye towards Pinkie Pie, who simply giggled as a miniature Discord suddenly rose out of her mane.

“I threw him a party ‘cause I remembered I never threw him one when Fluttershy reformed him because he was always so busy, and it was a total blast! I wanted to invite you all but Discord wanted to make a few adjustments and by the time he was finished we were in this funny place where all the doors were connected to each other and the gravity was reversed and there singing fish and-”

“Sadly, I was already there to help with the decorations at the time,” Rarity said as she shuddered. “Believe me, you were lucky to have missed it.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” Fluttershy contested as picked up a sandwich, only for it to sprout legs and arms and turn into Discord before she could eat it. “But the paradoxes were a bit… T-They still keep me up at night…”

“Discord,” Twilight said in the calmest tone she could muster while Discord’s fingers were circling around her head, always drawing close but never making contact with her, “Don’t you have any important work to do for Princess Celestia?”

Discord jumped back and landed on a soft cloud. “You sound just like that brother of yours. ‘Discord, don’t you have something important to take care of?’ ‘Discord, I’m trying to do a headcount to make sure all of my troops returned from their mission okay!’ ‘Discord, stop bringing my orcish army figures to life!’”

“And?” Twilight asked.

“She gave me the day off,” Discord said. “I proposed to her that a day off from my duties would be the same as giving herself a day off from me. I know I can be a bit of a hoofful, and I do worry about the stress I’m putting on poor old Celly…”

“Then stop being so stressful,” Twilight suggested.

“Nah,” Discord said as he summoned an ice-cream cone in his eagle claw and held it above his mouth. Tapping the bottom caused an avalanche of ice-cream scoops to pour out of the cone and into his mouth.

“Well, it was a nice day out while it lasted,” Rarity sighed as she poured herself a fresh cup of tea.

“Oh, by all means, don’t let me ruin a beautiful date between friends such as this,” Discord said as he snapped his fingers to magic a pair of swimming trunks over his lower body. “By all means, pretend I’m not even here.” Discord jumped into the air and dived into the lake beside the six mares, causing all of them to raise their forelegs for cover. However, no water splashed their way. In fact, there was no splash at all…

“Twilight, you know any freezing spells to ice the lake over?” Applejack asked quickly as soon as she saw that Discord was gone.

“Sadly, it’s too warm out today,” Twilight said. “Anyway, it would just be easier to move the picnic itself.”

“Good thinking,” Rainbow said as she flapped her wings to gain some lift. “I’ll scout out a good spot.” Rainbow Dash took off, but stopped after only a second of flying. With a gasp and a very large smile, Rainbow Dash took off again, this time her destination being the blue mare she could see walking their way. “Hey!”

Trixie grinned as she saw Rainbow Dash flying towards her… and then looked worried as she saw no signs of the pegasus slowing down. “H-Hey-” Trixie was cut off as the blue blur collided with her, knocking her down to the ground as two blue forelegs pinned in her place. “What is the meaning of this?!” Trixie asked as she struggled against her captor’s hold. “Release Trixie at once!”

“What’s the matter?” Rainbow Dash asked as she chuckled at the helpless unicorn beneath her. “Can’t the Great and Powerful Trixie get herself out of something like this?”

“It’s not that,” Trixie said as she winced. “Trixie twisted her leg in Manehattan! It still hurts!”

Rainbow’s eyes widened as she quickly lifted her own forelegs. “S-Seriously?!”

Trixie quickly lifted her right foreleg around Rainbow’s neck and sat up, bringing their faces close together. “Nope,” she said in a playful tone, before rolling out from underneath Rainbow Dash and dusting herself off.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was stunned at the little deceptive act that had just transpired, but only for a few seconds. Her face turned to a scowl and her wings flared out of her sides. “Hey! That’s playing dirty!”

“You move fast, Trixie thinks fast,” Trixie said with a smirk. “Anyway, it’s what you get for pinning Trixie down in the dirt like that.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t like it,” Rainbow Dash said, now with a devious grin on her face as she closed in on Trixie. She kissed the other mare’s lips and the two closed their eyes as they shared a few long moments enjoying each other’s mouths, tongues and all.

“So Trixie spent half-an-hour looking for you,” Trixie said as the two finally decided to part from the kiss. “She heard that you were having a picnic by a lake. Too bad that this town has five lakes in and around it.”

“I thought you said you’d be back tonight,” Rainbow Dash said.

“True. That was the idea,” Trixie admitted. “Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well so Trixie decided to leave early.”

“Ah… Sorry to hear that,” Rainbow said.

“But, there was one thing that went right,” Trixie continued, pulling an envelope out of her cape with her magic and presenting it to Rainbow Dash. “Go ahead. Look inside.”

Grabbing the envelope from Trixie, Rainbow Dash gave a questioning look before biting into the top and ripping it open. Inside were two thin paper strips… Rainbow Dash gasped as she pulled them out and saw what they were. “Tickets to the Wonderbolts’ show this weekend!” Trixie nodded. “VIP seats?” Another nod. “FREE SNACK BAR?!”

“That is corre-” Trixie had to stop midsentence as she felt all of the wind escape her lungs. For all her honed reflexes, she could not for the life of her dodge the incoming vice-like grip of the ecstatic blue pegasus before her. She tried to plea for mercy, but words were unable to escape her mouth. She feared that this was the end.

“Oh my gosh, oh MY GOSH!” Rainbow Dash released Trixie and flipped into the air. “This. Is. AWESOME!”

‘Called that one,’ Trixie thought to herself as she rubbed her head and rose back up to her hooves.

“No, seriously! This is just- I don’t even- … How did you afford this.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Well you don’t have to say it like that,” Trixie said before clearing her throat. “Anyway… they were a gift.”

“A gift?” Rainbow Dash asked. “These? These kinds of tickets usually go for, like, triple digit sums!”

“Yes, well you see… Trixie happened to bump into this charming couple up in Manehattan who ran into some trouble with a pickpocket, and Trixie, the Great and Powerful mage that she is, saved the day.”

“What do you mean you don’t serve hay smoothies?!” Trixie shouted as she slammed her forehooves onto the service counter at the café that she was visiting.

“I’m sorry, Miss, but that brand was discontinued at this chain because it was simply unpopular,” the stallion on the other side of the counter replied as he mopped his brow with a hoofkerchief. “If you’re lucky, one of the smaller cafés in the city might serve it, but-”

“Well then, it seems that Trixie will have to take her business elsewhere!” With a harrumph, Trixie turned and left the store. As she walked outside, she sighed and pulled out a packet of peanut butter crackers from her cape. “Well, at least Trixie still has this going well for her today.” Licking her lips, Trixie opened the packet and levitated one of the crackers towards the peanut butter…

“Stop him!” Trixie looked up just in time to see a stallion crash into her, knocking her to the ground and causing her treat to fall down a nearby drain.

“Ow…” The stallion rose to his hooves and glared at Trixie. “Watch it you stupid mare!” The stallion tried to flee, but he felt something yanking on his tail, preventing him from moving. As he turned around, he saw the same mare he has just knocked down pulling on his tail with magic as she sent an icy glare his way.

“You made Trixie drop the snack she was looking forward to… and then you dare to insult her?!” Trixie pulled the stallion towards herself with her magic and then crouched. The stallion sailed above her. Trixie thrust her forehooves upwards into the stallion’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him before he crashed down onto the ground behind her.

As the realisation that there were ponies watching sank into Trixie, she cleared her throat and regained her composure, dusting herself off and picking up her hat that was knocked to the ground by the stallion’s collision.

“You there!” Trixie jumped and froze on the spot. She hoped that that wasn’t the city’s guard as she turned around slowly, and then gave a relieved sigh as she found that it wasn’t. “You just saved us! Thank you so very much!” the stallion approaching Trixie said.

The mare beside him knelt down and picked up the bag lying next to the downed pony. “You are a true hero! Thank you, Miss…”

Trixie looked between the two with an uncertain look on her face. “T-Trixie…”

“Thank you, Miss Trixie,” the stallion said as he shook her hoof. “I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t stopped that mugger.”

Trixie’s eyes widened as that single sentence filled the holes in her mind. “O-Oh, yes! Don’t mention it. It’s what the Great and Powerful Trixie does, after all.”

“‘Great and Powerful’ indeed,” the mare said. “Oh, where are my manners? My name is Aunt Orange. And this is my husband, Uncle Orange.”

The stallion bowed. “Nice to meet you. Now, whatever can I do to repay you for your kindness?”

Trixie smiled at that. “Well-”

“There certainly aren’t many kind ponies like you out in the world these days,” Aunt Orange said. “Such a shame, it is.”

“I-”

“Going out of your way to help ponies you don’t even know. My daughter would love you,” Uncle Orange added.

“That’s-”

“And so modest, too,” Aunt Orange finished. “I know you never asked for anything, but it would be wrong not to give you something. So here, take these.” She pulled out a small envelope from her bag and offered it to Trixie. “These were given to the two of us by a friend, but it’s not really our thing.”

“Maybe you have a coltfriend you’d like to go with?” Uncle Orange asked in a sly tone. “Strong and beautiful mare like you has got to have caught somepony’s eye.”

Aunt Orange nudged her husband, who simply chuckled. “Don’t mind him. He’s like that to all the pretty ones, but thankfully he has me to keep him in line.”

“Don’t-”

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Miss Trixie,” Uncle Orange said. “I’m sorry to have cut into your time like this. We’ll let you get back to your day now.”

The couple turned around and walked down the street, chatting and giggling to each other. Meanwhile, a confused-looking Trixie was left holding onto a small envelope as she watched the two walk away. “… Trixie would have preferred cash…” she said as she opened the envelope to see what was inside. “… But this works too.”

“Well, more-or-less,” Trixie added. “You should have seen it. An intense battle of the ages, it was! But of course, the Great and Powerful was not scared once. Not even when the coward drew his knife!”

“He had a knife?” Rainbow Dash asked, a look of concern on her face.

“As Trixie said, it was not a problem,” Trixie quickly added, waving her hoof dismissively.

“After what happened with Melody, I don’t really think you should be picking fights with armed muggers just yet.”

“Trixie has already recovered from that. Anyway, Wonderbolts show. Yea or neigh?”

“Oh!” Rainbow Dash suddenly remembered the tickets in her hooves. “Well, obviously I’m not gonna turn down something like this!”

“Then it’s a date,” Trixie said.

“You’re going on a date?” Trixie’s ears twitched and she turned around to see Rainbow’s friends standing behind her. It was Pinkie Pie who spoke. “Hey guys! Dashie’s going on a date! Where ya going? Is it somewhere with lots of cotton candy?”

“Well ah’ll be,” Applejack said as she approached the two. “Girl only jus’ got back an’ ye’re already puttin’ the moves on her?”

“Hey! She’s the one who got the tickets!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Tickets to where?” Twilight asked, smiling at the two.

“To the Wonderbolts show this weekend,” Trixie answered. “VIP seats, too,” she added in a prideful tone.

“Oh my,” Rarity said, “You certainly know how to woo your mare.”

“Guess we know who wears the saddle in this relationship then,” Applejack said in a sly tone.

“What?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she landed before Applejack. “As if! She got the tickets, but I’m the one who’s gonna pick her up and take her home!”

Trixie was about to say something in objection, but realised that Rainbow Dash ‘picking her up’ would be a lot cheaper than hiring a chariot for the evening. So she remained silent… verbally, at least.

“Trixie, dear,” Rarity said, drawing Trixie’s attention, “You weren’t planning to wear that on your date, were you?”

“Hm?” Trixie looked over her cape and hat. “Oh. Well if it’s a cold night, Trixie will just wear her casual hooded jacket and skirt.”

Rarity gasped. “You can’t be serious! You don’t have any formal attire to wear at all?”

“Uh, ursa minor?” Trixie frowned as she heard herself using that excuse again. But it’s not like it wasn’t true. The damage from that incident was still affecting her even to that day. “It destroyed whatever clothes Trixie had, and she never quite found the money to spend on luxurious dresses or the like.”

“Well that just won’t do! You can’t go out on your date wearing that!”

“It’s just to a Wonderbolts show,” Trixie pointed out.

“A VIPs,” Rarity rebutted. “Not to mention it’s your first real date with Rainbow Dash outside of Ponyville. No no, I insist on fixing you up with an outfit more suited to the occasion.”

“Trixie does not have enough-”

“Completely on the house,” Rarity interrupted, anticipating Trixie’s next words.

“Well that’s-” Trixie stopped in her tracks and tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she caught sight of something behind the other mares. “I-Is that…”

“Ooh! A new friend to play with!” All of the mares beside Trixie yelped and turned to Discord as he suddenly blinked in behind Fluttershy, leaning down on her head and examining Trixie.

“D-D-D-D… DISCORRRRRD?!”

Discord reached into his ears and pulled out a pair of ear plugs. “I’m sorry, you’ll have to repeat that. Didn’t quite catch it.”

Trixie was not amused by the draconequus’ antics, her head lowering and her horn glowing in just a matter of seconds. “S-STAY BACK! THIS WON’T END LIKE LAST TIME!”

“Trixie, calm down!” Twilight shouted, teleporting herself between the two. “It’s okay! You don’t have to do that!”

“… You’re right,” Trixie said. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “You distract him, and Trixie will go get the Elements. They’re in your library, right?”

Twilight facehooved. “No, I mean we don’t have to seal him away! He’s reformed!”

“That’s right! I’m a new chimera now! I would never do anything to harm anypony,” Discord said, a halo appearing above his head in order to strengthen his claim.

“I thought you already knew about this,” Rainbow said as she walked up to Trixie.

Trixie’s horn died down as she faced Rainbow Dash. “I thought you were joking.” Trixie turned back to Discord. “So he’s… really your friend now.”

“Welll,” Twilight said, scratching the back of her neck.

“Kinda,” Applejack said.

“In a manner of speaking,” Rarity added.

“He’s the best draconequus friend we’ve ever had,” Fluttershy said with a warm smile.

Trixie looked over the group of mares, all with different expression on their faces. “… You guys… have some weird friendships going on.”

“Tell me about it,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Well, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” Discord said as he wrapped a talon around Trixie’s neck, “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself, friend?”

Trixie’s eyes sparkled and her mouth curled up into a grin. “You wish to hear about the Great and Powerful Trixie’s magnificent tale?” The Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all rolled their eyes, knowing where this was leading. “Very well then! Let’s start with-”

“Or we could just scene transition!” Discord interrupted.

“Wait, what-”

Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle laughed as they ran around the school yard, chasing a butterfly with nets in their mouths as it fled the three menacing fillies pursuing it. Other fillies and colts that were in their path were knocked to their flanks as the Crusaders passed by, and stopped for a moment to glare at the three before resuming their own fun and games.

All except for two, who just happened to pick the worst time to be showing off their shiny new bracelets when the three fillies bumped into them. Diamond Tiara gasped in horror as she watched her silver bracelet fall onto the ground besides Silver Spoon’s pink one, and Silver Spoon yelped as her glasses fell from her face, rendering her as blind as a bat.

“Hey!” Diamond Tiara shouted to the three chaotic fillies, causing them to stop and turn to face her. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I can’t see!” Silver Spoon screamed in panic as she stretched her forelegs forward.

“We’re just playing,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Why don’t ya mind yer own business?” Apple Bloom stuck her tongue out, which only seemed to infuriate the pink filly further.

“Diamond?” Silver Spoon asked as she crouched down as felt the ground for her glasses.

Diamond Tiara picked up the fallen bracelets and stomped towards the three Crusaders. “You could have damaged our new jewellery!” she shouted. “Do you realise how much they cost?!”

“If you’re worried ‘bout damaging them, you shouldn’t bring them to school,” Scootaloo remarked.

“Guys?” Silver Spoon rose to her hooves as turned to her left, taking a slow step forward.

“Oh, so you wouldn’t care if somepony broke your scooter while it was left in the classroom?” Diamond asked, causing Scootaloo to frown.

“That’s different!” Scootaloo argued.

“You’re right. Our bracelets are actually important.”

“C’mon Scoots,” Apple Bloom said as she tugged Scootaloo’s foreleg. “Let’s ignore ‘em.”

Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. “Remember Rainbow Dash telling you not to get into stupid fights like this?”

Diamond Tiara chuckled. “You really care what that stupid airhead says that much? You really are stupid, having a crush on somepony so much older than you!”

Scootaloo blushed. “I don’t have a crush on her!”

“Look, we’re sorry fer yer bracelets!” Apple Bloom said, hoping to defuse the situation. “Why don’t ya jus’ let it go an’ go wash ‘em off or somethin’?”

“You think a simple ‘sorry’ will fix everything?” Diamond turned to Scootaloo. “And it’s obvious you do, which is quite sad, considering you’ll never get her in your life!”

“That’s enough!” Apple Bloom shouted.

“It’s true though, what with that unicorn she’s been hanging around with. She’ll never love you.”

“That’s too far!” Sweetie Belle barked. She and Apple Bloom turned when they heard hoofsteps behind them and found Scootaloo walking away at a fast pace. “Scootaloo!”

“Just leave me alone!” Scootaloo shouted back as she continued to storm away from her friends.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle turned back to Diamond Tiara with fiery glares. “Way ta go!” Apple Bloom said.

“We just got her to feel better about all that!” Sweetie Belle told her.

Diamond Tiara harrumphed. “She needs to grow up and face reality.”

“Diamoooooond!” Diamond Tiara turned around to find a panicking Silver Spoon searching the ground. “Helllllp!”

With a sigh, Diamond moved to help her friend, whilst the Crusaders took off after their own.

Scootaloo kicked a stone on the ground as she walked through the trees outside of the school grounds, stopping at one of them to lean against it and sigh. “Stupid Diamond Tiara,” she muttered. “I know she’s going out with Trixie, but I still-”

“Squirt?” Scootaloo jumped with a start and placed a hoof to her chest, ordering her heart to stay inside. “Up here!” Looking up, Scootaloo found Rainbow Dash looking down on her from the tree branch above her head. “What’s up? ‘Sides me, I mean.”

“R-Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo’s eyes followed Rainbow Dash as she descended slowly to the ground. “N-Nothing’s up! Why would you think something was up?”

“You were kinda muttering something to yourself,” Rainbow told her. “And you’re also outside of school, which means something must be bothering you. Is it that pink filly again? Or the glasses-wearing one? Or that colt with buckteeth?”

“N-No,” Scootaloo said as she shook her head. “Well, Diamond Tiara is partly the problem, but I… I just wanted to be alone. That’s all.”

“Alone?” Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow. “Why?”

“No reason,” Scootaloo answered quickly. “Just… wanted to be alone.”

Rainbow Dash stared down at the filly for a few moments, watching as Scootaloo’s eyes shifted left-and-right while her hooves scuffed the ground. “Look, kid. I used to ‘just wanna be alone’ sometimes, too. And lemme tell ya, I was terrible at lying about it. I couldn’t control my eyes or my legs at all whenever my dad asked me what was up and I just told him it was nothing.”

Scootaloo winced as she forced her leg to remain still. She sighed as she closed her eyes and lowered her head. “… I just… You… You’ve been spending a lot of time with Trixie lately…”

“Well, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said in a confused tone. “We are going out and all.”

“Well, it’s just that you’ve… You haven’t been spending as much time with me…” There was a silence between the two for a moment. “I mean, like, we used to go play together in the park, or I got to watch you practice your flying, and sometimes, you helped me with my scooter tricks.”

Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her neck. “Yeah… I guess we haven’t done stuff like that since before I went to Detrot, huh?”

“I mean, I get you have a marefriend and all now, I just-”

“That’s no excuse,” Rainbow Dash said. “Even Rarity and Applejack still find time for their sisters… I guess I was just having so much fun, it didn’t cross my mind…”

“… I should probably get back to school, before Miss Cheerilee sees I’m gone.”

“Wait.” Rainbow Dash put a hoof to her chin. “… Y’know what we still haven’t done yet, that I told you we’d definitely do a long time ago?”

Scootaloo looked at Rainbow Dash questioningly. “What’s that?”

“Y’know! Go see a live Wonderbolts show together!”

Scootaloo tilted her head to the side. “We’ve been to shows together.”

“Not in VIP seats!” Scootaloo gasped. “That’s right! The seats with all the best angles, where we get our faces shown on the big screen, and the Wonderbolts come down to hang with us personally during the breaks!”

“No way!” Scootaloo’s eyes showed stars as she ran up to Rainbow Dash. “You can’t be serious!”

“I am!” Rainbow Dash proclaimed proudly. “This weekend, me and Trixie are going to the Wonderbolts with VIP tickets, and kids get in free with two adults!”

Scootaloo’s enthusiasm seemed to die down a little bit. “T-Trixie will be there?”

“Wellll… she’s kinda the one who got the tickets…”

Scootaloo lowered her eyes to the ground for a second, before looking back up at Rainbow Dash with a big smile on her face. “Alright! This will be so awesome! What time is the show? No, what time you pickin’ me up? Should I take my scooter for them to sign? How much money should I take? How-”

“Slow down, kiddo,” Rainbow Dash laughed as she motioned with her hooves for Scootaloo to settle down. “Take whatever you want, but the snacks there will be free. As for pickup, I’ll stop by your place at around five. But make sure your parents are okay with it first!”

Scootaloo nodded. “They will be! They love you!”

“Well, obviously,” Rainbow Dash said as she hovered into the air. “Anyway, you should probably head back to school before classes start.”

“I will,” Scootlaoo said as she waved goodbye to Rainbow Dash. “See you later, Rainbow Dash!”

Scootaloo turned and ran back towards the school, a wide smile on her face and cheer in her features. As she ran, she heard two voices behind her. “Scootaloo!”

Stopping and turning around, Scootaloo found Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle approaching her from behind. “Girls? What’re you-”

“We were worried, so we followed after you,” Sweetie Belle explained.

“We saw Rainbow Dash talkin’ ta ya though, so we hid in the bushes. What happened? Are y’all okay now?”

Scootaloo nodded. “I’m fine. Rainbow Dash invited me to a Wonderbolts show this weekend.”

“That’s great!” Apple Bloom cheered.

“Yeah… Uh, so… I kinda have a favour to ask…”

“Sure thing!” Apple Bloom said. “Y’all can ask us fer anythin’, you know that.”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle agreed. “So what is it?”

“… I kinda…” The two fillies tilted their heads and motioned for Scootaloo to continue. “… Need a dress.”

Gasps of shock filled the air.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes were wide and filled with stars as she stared at the beautiful thing in front of her. She knew that Trixie was getting a new dress from Rarity for their date, ands he was aware of how much time Rarity had spent on the thing thanks to Applejack. Even so, she never thought that the dressmaker could create something like this. She didn’t think that anypony could make something that would actually make her blush just from making eye contact with its wearer.

“So ah take it ya like what ya see?” Applejack asked with a smug grin, walking away from the door and just allowing Rainbow Dash to enter the boutique at her own pace.

Rainbow Dash shook off her surprise and stepped foot inside the store. “Well, yeah… I mean, it’s not bad-looking or anything. I just wasn’t expecting something like… this.”

Rarity giggled at her flustered friend. “I’ll just take that as a compliment. I wanted this to be the perfect dress for your first real date!” Rarity leaned towards Trixie and whispered, “Because I know Rainbow Dash certainly won’t be responsible for making this night magical. I’m leaving that up to you.”

Trixie nodded, but didn’t say a word. Rarity wondered if she had actually heard that. Trixie was also captivated by the beauty of the dress she was wearing. The dark-blue colour was just the right shade to accent her coat without clashing with it. The shimmers made it look like she was a galaxy in the night sky. The right amount of lace made it appear that she was a princess of noble blood, whilst the flowing cape down her back offered a look of mystery and wonderment.

“I look wonderful,” Trixie commented, catching the others off guard, who all fell at her use of ‘I’.

“Y-You mean ‘the dress looks wonderful’, right?” Rarity asked.

“Hm? Oh, yes. The dress is lovely,” Trixie said. “But I pull it off perfectly.”

“Well it was intended for you,” Rarity said. “Now, Rainbow Dash, are you sure you don’t wish for at least some makeup before you go?”

“I’m sure!” Rainbow Dash said, backing away quickly as soon as she saw Rarity approach her makeup box.

“Such a pity. Oh well, I guess it was too much to hope for,” Rarity sighed as she closed her box. “Well then, I hope the two of you have a wonderful evening.”

“We most certainly will,” Trixie said with confidence as she turned and approached Rainbow Dash. “Shall we?”

“You two have fun now!” Applejack called after the two as they left the boutique, closing the door behind them. She then turned to Rarity with a devious grin on her face. “Now then, how ‘bout the two of us have a lil’ fun?”

“Not tonight, Applejack,” Rarity said, though it did little to stop Applejack’s advances as the farm pony planted soft kisses on her partner’s neck. Rarity giggled, but managed to push Applejack away before letting her mind give in. “No, really. Not tonight, dear. I’m exhausted after making those dresses…”

“Dresses?” Applejack asked. “Plural?”

“Oh yes. Sweetie Belle and her friends came by a couple of days ago and asked for a dress for Scootaloo. Said she has a date and wanted to look her best.” Rarity yawned as she removed her glasses and put them away inside their case.

Applejack, however, looked confused. “Scootaloo has a date? That’s odd. Apple Bloom didn’t say anythin’ ta me, an’ she’s always goin’ on ‘bout her and her friends when we’re workin’ together.”

“Perhaps Scootaloo asked her not to tell you,” Rarity suggested.

“Maybe,” Applejack said with a nod. “Well that’s great, anyway! So who’s the lucky lil’ foal she’s got her eyes on?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t tell me.” Rarity unleashed another yawn. Applejack wrapped a foreleg around Rarity and allowed the unicorn to snuggle up against her shoulder. “Anyway, I’m too tired for intimate play right now…”

“That’s okay. Ah’ll let ya get yer rest. You deserve it.” Applejack and Rarity walked towards the stairs leading to the store’s upper floor. “Jus’ make sure ya get lotsa rest, ‘cause come mornin’, ah ain’t takin’ ‘no’ fer an answer.”

“So…” Trixie said awkwardly as she walked beside Rainbow Dash, “… I guess you’ll be… giving Trixie a lift, soon?”

“Uh, about that,” Rainbow Dash responded, stopping for a moment. “There’s something I probably should’ve told you sooner.”

“Hm? What’s that?” Trixie asked.

“Well, you remember Scootaloo, right?”

Trixie’s ear twitched and her eyes narrowed as an image of the filly entered her mind. “Yes… She’s that… charming little filly, correct?” she said in a tone of forced sweetness.

“Yeah, well y’see, the thing is… I kinda invited her along with us.”

Trixie’s eyes widened suddenly. “You what?!”

“But it’s okay! Kids get in free with two adults and-”

“B-But this is our date!”

“And it still will be! We just… have a guest tagging along, too.”

Trixie stomped a hoof against the ground. “Unbelievable! The Great and Powerful Trixie had prepared the perfect moves to woo you, and now she must rethink her entire strategy because of the presence of a child!”

“I’m sorry, Trix. It’s just that she’s been kinda down lately, and I wanted to do something special to cheer her up. And hey, it’ll still be fun, right?” Rainbow Dash walked up to Trixie and placed a hoof under her chin. “We can still do this when she’s not lookin’.” Rainbow Dash kissed Trixie on the lips, pushing her tongue forward and finding Trixie’s.

She pulled back after a few seconds and gave a victorious grin at Trixie’s pleased expression. “… Well, it won’t be a total loss,” Trixie said as she turned around. “Very well then. Trixie will let this slide, but try not to make a habit of inviting children along to our dates.”

Rainbow Dash led the way to Scootaloo’s house, where the two found Scootaloo dressed up for the occasion in a gorgeous orange dress with purple lining that one certainly would not expect to see a child wearing to a sporting event. Not unless they were on a date with another child.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said as she ran towards the older pegasus mare and latched onto her leg. She shot a flat stare at Trixie. “Hey, you.”

Trixie tried her hardest to force a grin along her face. “Hey, kid. Nice evening for an air show, don’t you think?”

“Totally. Don’t see many unicorns up there though.”

“Well Trixie is a special case.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Scootaloo muttered.

Trixie felt a vein starting to pop. “Well, it certainly is nice to see you again,” she said, keeping herself composed whilst Rainbow Dash was watching.

“You too,” Scootaloo said, almost gagging on her words.

“So, Rainbow Dash,” Trixie said, “Shall we be going now? You’re our lift, after all.”

Rainbow Dash’s ears fell and her eyes narrowed at Trixie. “I’m your ‘lift’?”

“That’s right,” Trixie said as she levitated Scootaloo onto Rainbow’s back. “All aboard the Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash stopped Trixie from climbing onto her back by stretching a hoof. “No! No way! You are not getting on my back! I’d like this spine to be working for at least another ten years or so!”

While Scootaloo laughed, Trixie looked decidedly less amused. “A simple ‘no’ would have sufficed,” she said as she allowed Rainbow Dash to fly into the air and pick Trixie up from underneath her. Grunting and groaning, Rainbow Dash carried her two dates up towards the clouds.

The Cloudsdale Firefly Stadium – the biggest, grandest stadium in Equestria, built originally as a military training ground, it was remodelled into a sporting arena to house the first ever Equestria Games, and has since been used to hold flight races, wingball matches, and other flight-based sporting events, both for professional athletes and for school outings.

So it was no surprise to see lines of ponies stretching as far out towards the horizon as Rainbow Dash could see. In fact, it was like that every time the Wonderbolts were scheduled to make an appearance there. Usually, Rainbow Dash would be one of the ponies near the front, or at least halfway down the line, in her camping tent, keeping a sharp eye out for anypony trying to cut ahead of her.

Today, though, she was able to fly right by the thousands of anxious spectators with an air of great satisfaction and simply enter through the VIP door to the right of the crowds. As she let Scootaloo and Trixie off, she couldn’t help but notice the many eyes suddenly on them. Sure, ponies would often turn their heads whenever somepony skipped the line to use the VIP entrance. Even Rainbow Dash herself was guilty of that. There was a certain feeling of envy and annoyance that arose whenever she saw somepony do that.

But she suspected that, moreso than that, many of those eyes were focussed on the pony who should not have been with them – the unicorn, standing on the cloud floor as if it were solid ground. Usually, non-pegasi guests would be riding on the back of a chariot, not walking on the clouds. Even the bouncer seemed momentarily distracted by this before Trixie flashed her tickets at him, snapping him out of his daze as he returned to his job and examined the tickets.

“Alright, go on in, Mr. and Mrs. Orange,” the bouncer said, giving Rainbow Dash a strange look.

“Actually-” Rainbow Dash began.

“A hobby of his,” Trixie interrupted. “Please don’t stare. It’s not very nice.”

“M-My apologies,” the bouncer said, quickly averting his eyes.

Trixie shot Rainbow Dash a wry grin, who returned it with a frown as she walked past. “I don’t… really look like a colt, do I?” she asked once she was inside.

“Of course not!” Scootaloo said quickly. “You’re more of a mare than even Rarity is!”

Rainbow Dash gave the filly an uncertain look at that. “I don’t think that’s any better. I don’t want ponies to think I’m some ‘helpless damsel’ who can’t protect herself.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad,” Trixie said. “That way, the Great and Powerful Trixie can sweep you off your hooves as she rescues you.”

“But isn’t Rainbow Dash the one who helped you?” Scootaloo asked in a teasing tone.

Rainbow Dash grinned and wrapped a wing around Trixie. “Hey, yeah. If anything, you’re the damsel in distress and I’m the great hero.”

Trixie looked down at the filly, who simply gave a victorious smirk before turning away. “Or perhaps it’s the kid who is the helpless heroine.” Scootaloo skidded to a halt.

“What?! I-”

“I think this it,” Rainbow Dash said as she turned a corner and entered through a doorway, finding herself in the open VIP box with three other ponies. “Oh my gosh… This is really it, isn’t it?”

Behind her, Trixie and Scootaloo exchanged electrifying glares. “I sure hope your spell doesn’t wear off before we leave,” Scootaloo said. “Would sure be a disaster.”

“Oh don’t worry for Trixie. Just try not to wander off. You know how easy it is for kids to get lost,” Trixie returned, the sparks between the two of them causing the three other VIP guests to move cautiously away from the group.

“Hey Trixie,” Rainbow Dash said as she turned around, finding the two ponies looking her way with friendly smiles on their faces, “What’s the deal? Where’s the snack bar?”

Trixie walked further inside the VIP box and looked around. She found that there was indeed no snack bar as the tickets had promised. “Maybe they’re going to bring them out after the show starts? You shouldn’t be so eager, though. An athlete needs to watch her figure.”

“She has to eat a lot,” Scootaloo said, “If she’s gonna have enough energy to carry you back down to Ponyville.”

Whilst Trixie scowled at the pleased-looking filly, Rainbow Dash seemed to miss the malicious tone in her voice and broke into hysterics at the comment. “She’s right, Trix. You’re heavier than Applejack after an all-you-can-eat apple buffet!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie’s weight comes from the sheer magnitude of her epic levels of magic!” Trixie defended.

“Then why isn’t Twilight that heavy?” Rainbow Dash countered.

“B-Because… Anyway, let’s just find some good seats and enjoy the preshow… whatever Soarin’s doing up there.”

“I don’t think that’s an act,” Scootaloo said. “I think he’s just being yelled at by Spitfire.”

“… Well, let’s enjoy that then.”

After a very long wait, the show as finally ready to begin. And with it, the snack bar that Rainbow Dash had been promised arrived, too, served by none other than…

“Hoops?!”

“Huh?” The stallion pushing the tray into the VIP box peered through the bangs of his mane at the mare addressing him. “Rainbow Crash?! What- How did you get in here?”

“What’s that?” Rainbow asked with a sly grin on her face. “Is the caterer disrespecting the VIP guests?”

Hoops gulped and quickly shook his head. “N-No, ma’am. Not at all.”

“Friend of hers?” Trixie asked Scootaloo as she used her magic to pull an apple towards herself.

“I guess so,” Scootaloo said as she swiped that apple from Trixie’s hooves.

“Hey-”

“Thanks for getting that apple for me!” Scootaloo shouted, loud enough that everypony momentarily regarded the two before looking away.

Trixie bared her teeth as Scootaloo gleefully took a bite out of her apple. “You are such a… Whatever. I just hope your wearing your teeth-protectors.”

“My what?” Scootaloo asked as she gave Trixie an odd look.

“Oh, y’know. The thing you should always when you eat something that was held by magic You don’t want your teeth growing to the size of your legs, right?”

“WHAT?!” Scootaloo quickly released her apple, dropping it through the cloud floor beneath her.

As everypony turned to the two again, Trixie levitated a second apple towards the filly. “Oh, Scootaloo! You’re such a klutz! Here, you can have my apple.” Trixie leaned in and whispered, “By the way, that was a lie.” As she sat back up, she stole a glance at Rainbow Dash to see her giving the showmare an approving look.

“Who are those two?” Hoops asked. “They’re really loud.”

“That would be my marefriend and sister,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You’re datin’ a unicorn?” Hoops took another look at Trixie. “Ah, that explains it. You musta got your tickets through her. She looks just like the rest of those Canterlot snobs.”

Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow. True, she did get her tickets through Trixie, but the reasoning was completely off. “For your information, she is not-” Rainbow Dash stopped. “… She’s not anywhere near as bad as the snobs in Canterlot,” she continued. ‘At least not the few I’ve seen…’

“Well, whatever. If she’s rich, you found a good- Hold on. You have a sister?”

“Y’know, there’s more to liking somepony than just their money,” Rainbow Dash said.

Hoops gave her a flat stare, though it was hard to tell under his bangs. “This comin’ from you?”

Rainbow Dash tensed up at that. “Yeah, okay, so I dated a few ponies to get a few meals… and to get into R-rated movies. But it never went beyond kissing. This is an actual relationship.”

Hoops chuckled. “So, our lil’ Rainbow Crash is growing up finally.”

“Like I need to hear that from somepony who’s still doing catering jobs for a living,” Rainbow returned.

“Actually, it’s community service for… something that happened at a bar. I’m actually a Gym coach at our old school now, just like I said I’d be.”

“… Oh.”

“And what about you? Last I heard, you’re still only a Wonderbolt cadet.”

Rainbow Dash scowled at the grinning stallion. “I’m working on it!”

“If you were half as serious as you were when you were a filly, you’d be out there on the field right now, not watching from the stands.” Rainbow Dash said nothing as Hoops uncorked a champagne bottle and began to decant the drink into glasses. “That town’s changed you. When you were a filly, even if I gave you a hard time, I actually believed you’d be a Wonderbolt in no time after you graduated. But now, it’s like you’re content just being on weather duty the rest of your life.”

“That’s not true!”

“Then why’d you take the part-time class?” Hoops asked. “I ran into my old pal Lightning Dust the other day. She said she’s your Wingpony now. I can understand her taking the part-time class, but you should have enough to sign up for the fulltime classes.”

“But then I wouldn’t be able to see my friends as much…”

Hoops simply shrugged. “That’s a choice you’ll have to make. It’s been your dream your entire life to be a Wonderbolt, but if you aren’t ready to go all out at whatever cost, then I have to wonder if you’ll even make it.”

Rainbow Dash remained silent as Hoops discarded the empty glass and turned to leave. Behind her, Scootaloo pulled out a juice box she had brought along with her and poked the straw through the hole. Before she could take a sip though, the carton was in the air through Trixie’s magic and the showmare took a sip.

“What’re you doing?!” Scootaloo demanded with a furious look on her face.

“Just making sure it’s not got any poison in it,” Trixie said. “Since Dash and I are looking after you right now, we have to make sure you don’t digest something that might kill you.”

“Like there’d be any poison in my juice box! Give it back!”

“Here,” Trixie said as she returned the juice box. “Seems safe enough.” Trixie levitated a glass of champagne from the tray and brought it towards herself. She looked down into it with a grin on her face… which quickly feel as soon as she saw something fly into the liquid, following the sound of somepony spitting beside her. She turned her head to find Scootaloo sipping away at her juice with a devilish look on her face.

“Hey guys,” Rainbow Dash said as she approached the two, carrying a plate of potato chips and cupcakes on her back. “Sorry ‘bout that. Ran into an old… classmate of mine.”

“No worries,” Trixie said as she scooted closer to Scootaloo, inviting Rainbow Dash to sit beside on the side opposite to the filly. “We were getting along just great. Isn’t that right, Scootaloo?”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo answered with a smile on her face as she tipped her juice box over, pouring what little remained onto Trixie’s lap. She quickly moved it away and put on an apologetic look. “Oh man! I’m so sorry, Trixie!”

Trixie forced herself to remain smiling. “A-Accident’s happen, I guess,” Trixie said as she pulled a napkin out of her cape and wiped her legs dry.

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she watched the arena. “Now that’s flying!”

Trixie and Scootaloo also turned towards the stadium, watching the Wonderbolts work together in the sky to create a spectacular show of aerial dynamics that a single pony on their own couldn’t even hope to mimic.

“That is something,” Trixie muttered, narrowing her eyes as they remained on Spitfire, leading the rest of the team with the blazing trail she left behind as she flew. “Trixie’s magic could easily make it ten times better, of course.”

“Too bad the Wonderbolts is an all-pegasus team,” Scootaloo said.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and turned to Trixie, but was relieved to find she seemed to be unfazed by that comment. “Hey,” she said, “You gonna drink that?”

Trixie looked down at the champagne in her glass and wondered why she was simply holding it. She then caught Scootaloo grinning in the corner of her eye and remembered the reason why. With her magic, she levitated the glass back to the tray. “Perhaps it would not be setting a good example to be drinking in front of the kid,” Trixie said, placing a hoof on Scootaloo’s head and roughing up her mane.

“If you say so,” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, I’m the designated flyer here, not you.” A few minutes passed by as the three continued to enjoy the show. “Hey,” Rainbow Dash whispered to Trixie. “You mind if I ask you something?”

“You seem to have no problem doing so anyway,” Trixie said.

“Well, it’s about my Wonderbolts training.”

“Oh yes. You’re in the Wonderbolts Academy, aren’t you? What about it?”

“Well, you see, I’m only in the part-time classes at the moment,” Rainbow Dash said. “But those classes take a lot longer than the fulltime ones. Like, years longer. If I took the fulltime course, it would only take a year before I’m able to take the final test to see if I have what it takes.”

“Those courses are expensive though,” Trixie pointed out. “Not that Trixie ever had to worry about which course she’d take…”

“Well, the money’s not really a problem for me,” Rainbow Dash said.

“True. That house does scream wealth.”

“The problem is that, if I take that course, I won’t be able to see my friends again for a whole year, except for the holidays and special time off.”

“But it’s only a year, right?”

“I know, but I… I don’t know. A week is fine, but to not see them for an entire year? And if I fail the test at the end, I have to take the entire course all over again, but with the part-time course, you only have to take a few improvement classes if you fail at the end.”

Trixie put a hoof to her chin. “Well, if it was me, I’d take the fulltime course,” Trixie said. “But then the difference between us is that Trixie is used to being separated from ponies for prolonged periods of time.”

“But I don’t know if I’m down with that. I’ve been living in Ponyville for years now, and it’s so much fun there every day! The ponies there are cool, my friends are awesome, and I’ve also got a little sister now who always comes to me for advice! What if I’m suddenly not there to help her when she needs it? She comes to me for flying lessons, y’know?”

“It seems to Trixie that you’re going to have to chose what’s more important. Your dream of becoming a Wonderbolt, or keeping things as they are now, with your friends all beside you, just the way you like it.” Trixie turned her head away to hide her frown. “Of course, just because you pick one, doesn’t mean you’ll get it.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t see it, but she could hear the bitterness in Trixie’s tone. She wrapped a wing around Trixie and pulled her closer, and felt the showmare leaning into her shoulder. “But how am I supposed to make a decision like that?”

“You don’t have to do it right away,” Trixie said. “But you will have to make it before it’s too late. Otherwise, the decision will be made for you.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “Maybe I should ask Spitfire for advice.”

“Worth a try. She is your coach, after all.” Trixie turned to look into Rainbow’s eyes. “Whatever happens, find solace in the fact that the Great and Powerful Trixie will always find some time to come and visit you.”

Rainbow Dash grinned and leaned towards Trixie a bit. “Yeah, that helps… a little.”

Trixie also leaned in to kiss Rainbow Dash, but she was interrupted by a pair of hooves to the side of her head. “OH MY GOSH, DID YOU SEE THAT?!” Scootaloo shouted as she violently pulled Trixie’s head backwards and turned it to face the arena. “Awwww, it’s over now!”

Scootaloo hopped down from Trixie’s head and sat down in her seat, a proud look on her face as she continued to watch the arena. Trixie growled at the filly, who seemed to be taking no notice of her.

“Easy there, Scoots,” Rainbow laughed as she patted Trixie’s head. “You’ll break her neck if you keep that up. You know unicorns are more fragile than us tough pegasi.”

Scootaloo giggled and nodded in response, whilst Trixie huffed and pointed her nose upwards. “Well, it’s not like she can help it. She is a kid, after all.”

Scootaloo’s smile immediately deflated, even moreso when Rainbow Dash’s laughter reached her ears.

“Yeah, kids can be pretty excitable, I guess.”

Scootaloo turned her attention back to the arena, but she wasn’t focussing much as her forehooves tensed and grabbed a hold the dress she was wearing. ‘I’m really just a kid in her eyes, huh?’ Suddenly, Scootaloo found it hard to pay much attention o anything other than the sinking feeling in her gut.

With the evening over, Rainbow Dash flew Trixie and Scootaloo back down from Cloudsdale, dropping the former off at her trailer first before taking Scootaloo home, Trixie’s trailer being the closer location of the two.

“Well, this was certainly a fun evening.” Trixie glanced past Rainbow Dash to find Scootaloo blowing a raspberry towards her. Rather than scowling, she grinned and closed in on Rainbow Dash’s lips. She kept an eye open and, as expected, Scootaloo was growling furiously at her.

Rainbow Dash pulled back. “Okay, Trix. Maybe not a good idea making out in front of the kid?”

Trixie simply giggled. “Very well then.” Trixie leaned in to whisper, “Come back after you drop the runt off. We’ll have some more adult fun.”

Scootaloo hadn’t heard what Trixie had said, but Rainbow’s twitching wings told all. Scootaloo averted her eyes and gritted her teeth together.

“Alright, Squirt. Ready to go home?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I can go back myself,” Scootaloo muttered.

“In this dark?” Rainbow laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure you could, but I’d rather not risk a lecture from your folks.”

Scootaloo sighed and nodded her head. “Fine…”

“Alright then! Hop on my back and I’ll have you there in ten seconds flat!” Scootaloo climbed up onto Rainbow Dash’s back and the older mare took off, bolting through the night sky towards Scootaloo’s house. “So, pretty awesome show, huh?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo answered simply.

“… Remember when Soarin almost crashed into Spitfire, and the two got into an argument together? Man, those two are awesome together.”

“They are pretty funny,” Scootaloo said.

Rainbow Dash sensed that something was wrong, but she didn’t have much time to ask Scootaloo what it was before they arrived at the filly’s house. “Well, I guess you’re pretty tired,” Rainbow Dash said, more to herself than to Scootaloo. “You are a kid, after all. Awesome, but still a kid.”

Scootaloo’s legs shook and she stared at the ground as she jumped off of Rainbow’s back. “T-Thanks for…”

“Ah, don’t mention it.” Rainbow Dash turned around and prepared to take off. “Catch ya later, Squirt!”

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash turned around. Scootaloo wasn’t sure what to say, if anything at all.

“What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked. Scootaloo still said nothing… but a tear drop did fall down her eye. “Kid? Hey, c’mon. You know you can talk to me. If somepony’s giving you a hard time, you let me know and I’ll-”

“I love you!”

Time seemed to freeze as those words were blurted out all of a sudden. It wasn’t long after that Scootaloo realised what she had said, gasped, and bolted away from Rainbow Dash and into her house. As soon as she was inside her room, she fell to her haunches and allowed herself to cry.

Trixie sighed as she gazed out of her window, looking up at the crescent moon in the sky. Her dress was resting on the floor and she was laying on top of her bed with naught but her cape and a pair of purple-and-white-striped socks. “Where is she?” she questioned as she turned towards her trailer door. “It doesn’t take that long to fly to that kid’s house and back.” A thought came to Trixie that made her ears droop. “Is she not coming? … Hmph. Her loss.”

Removing her socks and her cape, Trixie pulled the covers over her body and locked her door with her magic, pouting as she snuggled warmly under her covers and closing her eyes to drift off to sleep.

Author's Note

Hmmm... I'm not sure if I paced the build up to Scootaloo's feelings bursting out right or not. Readers, what do you think?

Anywhom, against all odds, I managed to get this chapter out before New Year's :3 (In some countries, at least)

And now, back to Link Between Worlds... Man, this game is good.

By the way, is it just me, or are horizontal rules just not visible anymore? :S

15 - The Best Policy (Part III)

Trixie awoke feeling less than ‘Great and Powerful’ as she looked to her side to find herself alone in her bed. After giving her mind a few seconds to clear she remembered that she had gone to bed by herself last night after having given up on waiting for Rainbow Dash. With an aggravated yawn, Trixie rubbed her eyes and used her magic to remove her bed wear.

“What time is it?” Trixie asked herself aloud, looking over to the clock on the floor and waiting for her vision to clear so that she could read it. “About nine… Well, I guess Trixie can start her day early for today.”

Walking over to her vanity mirror with her horn glowing, and assortment of objects began to float around Trixie. A manebrush came down to fix her bed mane, an eyelash curler moved to her front to tend to her eyelashes, and a horn file made contact with her horn and began to file it.

She then turned on her sink and brought over her toothbrush and toothpaste. Whilst focussed on that, she looked towards her pantry to think about what she would have for lunch later that day. A smile came to Trixie’s face as she took in all of the things now filling her trailer. “Just one good show, and Trixie went from rationing fruit to living the sweet life.

“And to think, all Trixie had to do was place her faith in one pony.” As Trixie turned back to her mirror and began to brush her teeth, she started to think. ‘Rainbow Dash really came around at just the right time… I wonder why she never showed up last night?’

A knock sounded at Trixie’s door. She quickly spat out the toothpaste in her mouth and turned to face her door. “Who is it?!”

“It’s us, oh Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Trixie rolled her eyes. ‘Great. Dumb and Dumbest.’ “The Great and Powerful Trixie will she you as soon as she is ready!”

“We understand! We’ll just wait right out here for you!”

With a sigh, Trixie returned to the task of brushing her teeth. ‘It’s not like I hate dedicated fans, and I get what Dash means about appreciating the hardcore fans that always stayed loyal to me. But if it wasn’t for those two, I never would have-’

“Are you ready yet?!”

Trixie emptied her mouth once more and glared towards her door. “IF YOU INTERRUPT THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE ONCE MORE, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELFVES WISHING YOU NEVER LEFT YOUR HOMES TODAY!”

A yelp came from outside. “S-Sorry! I’ll be quiet ‘til you come out!”

‘“You’re being too hard on them”, is what Dash would probably say,’ Trixie thought to herself as she placed her manebrush down and finished brushing her teeth. ‘… Yeah, well, maybe you should have shown up last night if you wanted me to be easy on them… I’m going to have to ask her about that later.’

After a further fifteen minutes of making herself presentable for her loving public, Trixie donned her hat and cape and grabbed an empty plastic bottle from her nightstand. After a moment to ready herself, Trixie opened the door to her trailer and stepped outside.

“Good morning, Great and Powerful Trixie!” Snips and Snails shouted in unison as they crowded the mare.

“We’re ready for your lessons on magic!” Snips proclaimed with an excited smile.

“Please shower us with your infinite wisdom!” Snails pleaded.

Trixie kept the two from muddying her coat with their hooves by use of her magic. She shot them a glare that told them to settle down, and it seemed that the message was received loud and clear as the two immediately stopped in place and ceased talking at once.

“Yes, yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie has agreed to take you under her wing,” Trixie recapped as she made her way past the two colts. “And yes, the challenges ahead of you will be tough.”

“Oh boy!” Snips shouted, hopping up-and-down on the spot. “I can’t wait! What is it? Fireballs? Fighting wolves? Walking on our horns?”

“It will be- Walking on horns?” Trixie asked, giving the colt a strange look. “That’s just stupid.” ‘… Though if that is somehow possible, it would certainly draw a crowd. I’ll look into it later.’ Trixie shook her head and presented the two colts with a bottle. “Your first task for today will be to bring the Great and Powerful Trixie some water.”

The bottle landed at Snips’ hooves, and the two colts stared at it for a moment before looking back up at Trixie. “That’s it?” Snips asked, the disappointment in his voice plain and clear.

“That doesn’t sound so hard,” Snails said.

“Now hold on,” Trixie said. “There are some rules. First, the amount you bring must match up to the red line. No more, no less.” Trixie indicated a very thin red line on the bottle, just halfway up the neck.

“That’s still not very-” Snips began.

“Furthermore,” Trixie interrupted, “The bottle is enchanted. Whenever it moves, any water inside will evaporate.”

“Then how do we move it?” Snails asked.

“You may use the bottle for measuring out the water only, and to do so you must keep it absolutely still as you pour the water in and take it out,” Trixie told the colts. “After that, you must bring the empty bottle and the water to Trixie. Be warned, though, that if you are even slightly over or below the correct quantity of water, you will not pass. The final rule is that the water can only be transported in your magic.”

“In our magic?” Snips asked.

“Observe.” Trixie’s horn lit up. Behind her, the water in the lake began to rise up into the air and shape into a sphere that floated above the ground. “Like this. Holding water is one thing, but moving it without spilling a drop is something else. It is a great way to practise very finely controlling your magic and focussing your mind.”

“But we don’t know how to hold water in our magic,” Snails told Trixie. Snips nodded beside him.

“It is the same levitation spell that you use on solid objects. It is just a little more difficult because the particles are spaced further apart. Just keep trying and you should get the hang of it soon enough.”

“Really? Okay! Let’s do this!” Snips closed his eyes and pointed his horn towards the lake.

“Oh yeah, almost forgot,” Trixie said, causing Snips to reopen his eyes. “The water must come from the fountain in the town square. Trixie added a sweetener to the water there so that she will be able to tell that you used the correct water, and that you didn’t add from any other source on your way back to Trixie.”

“Are you allowed to do that?” Snails asked. “Other ponies drink from that.”

“There was no sign telling Trixie not to,” Trixie said, pointing her nose into the air. “You may begin whenever you are ready. Keep in mind that Trixie will not simply remain in one spot at all times though. But the Great and Powerful Trixie has so generously prepared these tracking crystals for the two of you.”

Snips and Snails held out their forehooves as two small, blue crystals were levitated their way. “It’s warm,” Snails commented.

“They get warmer the closer you are to Trixie. Think of it as an additional exercise in tracking somepony using only those crystals, though there are no explicit rules on asking ponies for directions.”

With a nod, Snips put the crystal away and turned to his friend. “Alright! We can do this in ten seconds flat!”

“But it takes ten minutes to get to the town square from here,” Snails pointed out.

“No, I was- Ah, forget it! Race you there!” Snips bolted past Trixie, leaving his friend in the dust.

“Hey, no fair!” Snails protested as he took chase, leaving Trixie alone at last.

“Well thank goodness,” she said to herself as she released the water in her hold, allowing it to drop down back into the lake. “That should keep them busy for… at least a week, I’d say. Perhaps Trixie should have told them to take regular breaks… Ah, I’m sure they can’t be that stupid.

“Anyway, there’s a more pressing matter at hoof right now.” Trixie turned to the direction opposite to the town. “Gotta find Dashie and demand an explanation for her absence last night.”

It was nearing afternoon, and Rainbow Dash still refused to climb out of her bed. Her stomach was growling, but she refused to get up and make herself some lunch. Her mane was in her eyes, but the only effort she put towards clearing it was simply blowing some air upwards. Her leg was asleep… That actually bothered her, so she finally decided to roll onto her back.

“Damnit. I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I’m still not even tired.” Memories of the events the previous night invaded Rainbow Dash’s thoughts. The dreaded words from Scootaloo’s mouth echoed throughout her mind, ringing louder and louder until-

A sudden ringing to her right startled Rainbow Dash. She turned to see her alarm clock, which she had smacked earlier to shut it up, was going off. And it sounded broken. “What am I gonna do?” she asked herself as she sat up and reached for her clock, opening the panel on the back and taking out the batteries inside. The ringing stopped, and silence fell. “Darn it, what do I do?!”

Rainbow Dash looked around the room, hoping to find something that would provide some answers. “I’m not sure what to say to her,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she lowered her gaze and stared down at the cloud floor beneath her hooves. “I mean, I’ve rejected ponies before, but… not children. Not my sister.

“Sister… Sister! That’s it!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she dropped her clock and jumped into the air, slapping her wings to hover above her bed. “Fluttershy’s like a sister to me! She’s always willing to lend an ear! … Except, she’s probably less likely to know what to do than me.” Rainbow Dash deflated as she slowly touched back down onto her bed. “Knowing her, she’d just hide if she were in this situation. But maybe… maybe somepony else will know what to do.”

Rainbow Dash brought a hoof to her chin and weighed her options. “Pinkie Pie? Nah, she’d just throw a party. How about Scootaloo’s parents? No way. That’d just make things more awkward. Twilight’s pretty smart… but I don’t think she’s the best source for relationship advice. Oh! How about Scootaloo’s teacher? But this isn’t really a school matter, so… Rarity? Hmmm…”

A bulb lit up above Rainbow’s head. “Hey, yeah! Rarity and Applejack know about dealing with kids, and Rarity’s got tons of those old romance novels lying around her store! She’s like, the Twilight of ‘Romance Education’!”

With a firm nod, Rainbow Dash’s course was set. Picking herself up once more, Rainbow Dash bolted out of her window and towards the town of Ponyville. It wasn’t long before she heard the sounds of somepony familiar calling up to her. “Oh shoot. I’d better apologise to her, first.”

“Rainbow Dash’s home looks pretty nice,” Trixie commented to herself as the large cloud house entered her vision. “I wonder how she affords it? Perhaps her mother was rich…”

Trixie stopped and looked up. She could see a rainbow trail leading out of Rainbow Dash’s home and heading towards the town. “HEY!” she called up. “HEEEEEEY!”

Her voice seemed to have reached Rainbow’s ears as the pegasus began to descend towards her. “Hey Trix, I-”

“You seemed to be in an awful hurry,” Trixie said as she approached Rainbow Dash. “You going somewhere?”
“Uh, yeah. I just wanted to-”

“And not even a word of apology for standing Trixie up last night?” Trixie asked with a teasing grin on her face.

Rainbow Dash didn’t pick up on the tone in the showmare’s voice, though. She had other things on her mind. ‘I can’t let Trixie know what’s up. She’s just got past that whole ‘world is against me’ thing, and after what happened with Melody… she could use a break from worries and stressful situations.’

“Well, perhaps you had something more important to attend to?” Trixie asked, her grin falling as she noted Rainbow Dash’s silence.

“Uh, yeah. T-That’s it. I just had something to take care of, so…”

Trixie eyed Rainbow Dash for a moment. The pegasus looked uneasy. She kept looking past Trixie and it was clear that she was in a hurry to take off. “Well, I suppose it was late. Still, you’d better make up for it. Let’s say, at the ice-cream store? Right now?”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “Oh, gee, sorry Trixie. I kinda… got something to take care of.”

Trixie’s narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Really? Well, perhaps Trixie can tag along? Maybe offer you a helping hoof?”

Sweat began to drip down Rainbow Dash’s forehead. “Uh, maybe next time. I’d prefer to do this on my own.” Rainbow Dash began to walk forward. “So, uh, I guess I’ll see you around…”

“Wait,” Trixie said, following after Rainbow Dash. “What’s going on? What are you doing that’s so important?”

“I can’t tell you,” Rainbow Dash said. “Just go do something else for a while.”

“Why can’t you tell Trixie?”

“I just can’t.”

Trixie, no longer amused by Rainbow’s antics, teleported herself before the pegasus, stopping her in her tracks. “Now hold on! I was prepared to accept whatever excuse you had for standing me up last night, but this is just-”

“It’s none of your business!” Rainbow Dash snapped, startling Trixie. She flapped her wings to gain some lift. “Look, just leave me alone, alright? I wanna be alone right now!”

Trixie didn’t say another word as she simply stared up at Rainbow Dash in surprise. Taking her silence as an ‘okay’, Rainbow Dash flew away over her head, heading towards the town.

‘I’m such a moron,’ Rainbow thought to herself as she flew. ‘I just didn’t want her to worry or concern herself over all this. She needs a break from stuff like that… I’ll make it up to her later. Right now, I gotta sort this whole Scootaloo thing out.’

Trixie continued to watch Rainbow Dash until she was out of sight. Her head then lowered and she stared at the ground in thought. ‘‘Leave me alone’? ‘I want to be alone’? What… was she trying to tell me?’ A drop of water hit the ground.

Trixie looked up to see that the sky was clear, and quickly ran a foreleg across her face, finding her cheeks to be wet.

After an eventful morning of wearing out her marefriend and then freaking her out with the thought of one day adopting a foal of their own, Applejack was enjoying some long overdue relaxation time. Rarity had to go out to meet with a client about some sort of partnership, and the farm was being tended to by Big Macintosh and Braeburn, who had somehow started some sort of competition together whilst the latter was visiting their town for the week,

It wasn’t often that Applejack decided to just lie about and do nothing, but there was something about that day, something that just made her feel like kicking back and letting the day pass her by. Maybe it has the warm weather, or maybe those spa trips were starting to affect her as she said they would.

Either way, Applejack was certainly enjoying herself. Rarity’s boutique was certainly warm, and she had actually come to like the fragrant aromas that filled the air. And heck, the cushions at the farm had nothing on the soft pillows of heaven that the fashion designer had laying about.

“Eeyup,” Applejack said to herself contently. “It’s gonna be a good day.”

“RARITY!” a voice shouted as the front door to the boutique slammed open. The bell ringing above the door hardly seemed necessary at that point. It was fairly clear that her relaxing afternoon was about to end.

“Afternoon, Dash,” Applejack said as she sat up and faced her friend, who was looking around the boutique with an almost-panicky look on her face. “What’s up?”

“Oh, hey Applejack. Don’t suppose Rarity’s around, is she?”

Applejack shook her head. “Nah, she’s out. What is it? Ya need a dress?” she asked with a smirk.

“I need to ask her something,” Rainbow said with an annoyed look. “I got sort of a problem on my hooves. Where is she?”

Applejack’s smirk fell and she climbed to her hooves to approach Rainbow Dash. “Well, ah’m not entirely sure ta be honest, but… what’s this problem ya said y’all have?”

“It’s nothing you’d be interested in,” Rainbow Dash said with a dismissive wave of her hoof.

Applejack’s brow furrowed. “Dash, we’re friends. O’course ah’d be interested in whatever problems ya have.”

“But it’s not something you could help with.”

Applejack tipped her hat forward with a confident grin on her face. “Try me.”

Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment before nodding and telling Applejack her story. She told her about Scootaloo’s confession, and that she had no idea what to do or how to deal with it. The entire time, Applejack simply listened with a neutral look on her face, taking in all the information that Rainbow had to offer and thinking it through seriously for her friend.

“Ah see… So when the Crusaders said she had a date, they musta meant you.”

“What do I do, Applejack?” Rainbow Dash asked, moving towards one of the nearby cushions and sitting down on it. Applejack sat beside her friend. “I mean, obviously I can’t return her feelings. Trixie aside, she’s only a kid.”

“But ya don’t wanna hurt her, right?” Applejack asked, receiving a nod. “It’s a real pickle, that’s fer sure.”

“I also don’t want things to be strange between us,” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, she’s a cool kid, and I love having somepony under my wing. I never had any siblings. Fluttershy’s the closest thing to a sister I had growing up, but we were so different. Scootaloo’s like, the perfect younger sister I never had.”

“Ah get what ya mean,” Applejack said. “Even after the Gabby Gums incident was resolved, Mac an’ ah were worried sick over whether or not we’d be able ta go back ta the way things were before with Apple Bloom. But these things, they sorta have a way of resolvin’ themselves.”

“This isn’t a minor screw-up, Applejack. She said that she loves me!”

“… Ah suppose they are kinda different.” Applejack fell down onto her back and stared up towards the ceiling, closing her eyes after a few seconds and humming in thought. “Ah can see why ya’d go ta Rarity fer help, but y’know ya can still rely on yer other friends, too, right?”

Rainbow Dash nodded after a brief silence. “Yeah. I guess I shouldn’t have ruled you out so soon.”

“Y’know, ah always said that honesty is the best policy…” Applejack sat up straight and turned to face Rainbow Dash with a smile, “An’ ah ain’t changin’ mah opinion now! Y’all have just gotta come straight with Scootaloo. Let her know ya don’t feel the right way, but that ya still want things ta be the same between ya.”

“But what if she doesn’t feel the same way?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What if she doesn’t think we can go back to just being sisters?”

“Then there’s not much ya can do ‘bout it. It’s her decision, after all. But as things stand now, yer relationship ain’t exactly great at the moment. Until the two of you sort this out, y’all will jus’ be avoidin’ each other in awkward silence.”

Rainbow Dash sighed and closed her eyes in thought.

“O’course, ya could always dump Trixie and start goin’ out with Scootaloo, but that may cause more problems down the line,” Applejack added with a grin.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and returned the grin, thrusting a hoof into her friend’s foreleg. “You idiot. When’d you start being so wise?”

“Since ah got a best friend who loves books an’ a marefriend who practically roleplays outta her romance novels.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a deadpan look and nodded. “It gets weird, trust me.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Rainbow said with a nervous smile. “… Thanks, Applejack. You’re right. I need to find Scootaloo and just… tell her the truth.”

“Anytime, Dash!” Applejack said as her friend rose to her hooves and began to make her way towards the door. “Don’t forget, it’s not just me! We’ve all got yer back when ya need it!”

“I know,” Rainbow Dash said as she opened the door and stepped outside. As the door closed, Rainbow Dash sighed and took a moment to collect her thoughts. “… Okay, no more dodging the issue. I’m just gonna tackle it head-on like I always do, and if worst comes to worst… I’ll deal with it as it comes.”

Rainbow Dash extended her wings and took off into the air, making her way towards Scootaloo’s home in the distance.

Travelling down the path leading out of Ponyville, carrying a hay smoothie in her magic and occasionally taking sips at the drink, Trixie Lulamoon was still pondering what the meaning behind Rainbow Dash’s words and actions were earlier that day.

Did she do something to upset the pegasus? Was Rainbow Dash upset about something else? Was she involved in some kind of secret case about a shadow organization being hunted by the Royal Guard? Was she a changeling in disguise?

Only one of those theories seemed plausible to Trixie, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why Rainbow Dash wouldn’t say anything if she was upset.

As slurping sounds came from her drink, Trixie realised that she must have finished her smoothie and stopped to look around for a bin, only to find that she had somehow wandered into the Whitetail Woods.

All around her, Trixie could hear nothing but the chirping of birds and the blowing of wind against the leaves in the trees. The scenery around her looked like something out of a painting of summer paradise in the Canterlot Museum of Art.

“This is a really peaceful location… Trixie must hold a show here at some point.”

Splash.

Trixie’s ears twitched as she looked around for the source of the sound. She saw a lake through the trees that looked like it might be a good place to stop for a rest, seeing as she had been walking around for some time.

Stepping forward, Trixie approached the lake and found that the splash she had heard was a pinecone from an overhanging branch falling into the water. She sat on her haunches by the lakeside and looked across to the other side as the wind blew through her mane.

Now alone and in complete silence, Trixie’s thoughts wandered back to Rainbow Dash. ‘‘Leave me alone’? Could it be that she… is dumping me?’ Trixie gasped as the thought occurred to her. “That would explain why she didn’t want Trixie to be around her. ‘I want to be alone’ must mean she’s tired of our relationship.”

Trixie’s hoof shook as she brought it towards her chest, feeling a pain she had not felt since the night of the ursa minor. Her mouth trembled as her breathing slowed and her magic shut itself off, dropping her empty cup to the ground. It rolled forwards until it landed in the water with another splash. The sound snapped Trixie out of her stupor and she reached out for the cup with her magic.

Behind her, the sound of a snap caused Trixie to turn around to find an orange filly standing behind her. “You?” Scootaloo asked in a low tone. “… I guess you kinda hate me now, huh?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Well certainly, Trixie dislikes you, but ‘hate’?”

“But I- Uh, never mind… Hey, what’s up? Why are you crying?”

“Crying?” Trixie raised a hoof to her face to find that there were indeed tears flowing down her face once again. “You’re mistaken,” she said as she quickly wiped her foreleg against her face, “It’s just water from the lake.”

“Huh? How does that-”

“What about you?” Trixie asked. “Your voice is pretty hoarse, so you’re either ill or you’ve been crying recently.”

Scootaloo’s cheeks glowed red as she quickly cleared her throat. “I-I haven’t been crying!” she shouted, wincing as her throat suddenly stung. “It was just all that cheering from the Wonderbolts’ show last night.”

‘You didn’t cheer that much,’ Trixie thought. “Hey, about that show… did Rainbow Dash seem off to you at all?”

Scootaloo flinched and felt her fur standing on end. “N-No. She seemed cool to me,” she said, her eyes shifting around the scenery. “Why d’ya ask?”

Trixie’s ears flattened against her head. Scootaloo watched curiously as the showmare’s typical look of confidence seemed to fade and she turned around to face the lake. “Well, it just seems that she’s been acting a little… off, today. That’s all.”

Scootaloo gulped. She approached Trixie cautiously and asked, “What do you mean? Has she said something?”

“Well, sort of… Trixie thinks that she… That Dash wants to break up with her.”

“What?!” Scootaloo gasped as she circled around to see Trixie’s face. “What do you mean?! That can’t be right!”

“Well it’s the only thing that Trixie can think of!” Trixie shouted with a glare. “She stood Trixie up last night, she didn’t want to talk or spend any time with me, and she told me herself that she wanted Trixie to leave her alone!”

“That’s because-” Scootaloo began, stopping herself before she told Trixie of last night’s events. “I mean, that doesn’t mean anything!”

“Of all the ponies who have turned on Trixie, this was the one I really didn’t see coming,” Trixie said in a sad tone. “I put my faith into Dash and was sure I wasn’t mistaken in my beliefs. I guess… I guess I was just wishing for too much, huh?”

“No way!” Scootaloo shouted. “There’s no way that Rainbow Dash would do that!”

“And how would you know?”

“Because I know Rainbow Dash! She’s like my big sister! And I know for a fact that she would never betray anypony, and even if she was gonna break up with you, she wouldn’t do it in such a cold way!”

“… You have a pretty high opinion of her.”

“Don’t you?” Scootaloo asked. “All this time you’ve been with her, and you still don’t know what she’s really like?”

Trixie sighed. “Honestly, I thought I did, but that pony continues to surprise Trixie time and time again.”

“Well, trust me, she’s not a cruel pony,” Scootaloo said, glancing down at the ground with a guilty look on her face. “And, you two get along so well together… I don’t think she’s gonna dump you anytime soon.”

Trixie smiled after a moment of silent thought. “You really know a lot about her, huh?”

“Well I am the head of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club,” Scootaloo said with an uneasy chuckle. Trixie chuckled too, but only for a moment, before the two were met with complete silence. “Hey, what do you like about her? What made you… start going out with her?”

Trixie considered that question for a second. “Well, at first, it was her loyalty,” Trixie said, and as soon as the words came out, she facehooved. “I guess even the Great and Powerful Trixie can be foolish, huh? She should have given Dash better credit.”

“Is it just her loyalty that you like?” Scootaloo asked.

Trixie shook her head. “That was just the starting point. As we gave our relationship a go, Trixie found that there were many things she liked about that pony. She may not be the smartest mare, but we have fun together, and it just feels so right being with her. Not to mention the other reasons that you’re far too young to hear.”

“Too much information,” Scootaloo said. “… When you say ‘it feels right’, what do you mean?”

“Trixie isn’t sure how to explain it,” Trixie said with a shrug. “It’s like the feeling Trixie got the first time she was on stage, only much more intense, and it’s more excitement than terror. Trixie’s heart feels like it wants to break out of her chest, and her legs would be like jelly had she not trained them to behave long ago.”

Scootaloo nodded as though she were following. ‘That’s… not really how I feel…’ “Well, anyway, I should probably be going now.”

“Hey,” Trixie called as Scootaloo walked past her and moved towards the trees, “Thanks. You don’t have to tell Trixie what’s wrong, but since you listened to my problems…”

Scootaloo bit her lip and stared at Trixie. “Just… go find Dash. I’ll be fine.” Before Trixie could say anything, Scootaloo turned tail and fled back into the woods.

For a moment, Trixie simply stared off into space, before nodding her head and rising to her hooves with firm resolve. “Right. Time to go find that airhead and find out what’s going on.”

All around the town, Rainbow Dash found no sign of Scootaloo. Scootaloo’s mother told Rainbow that the filly had left without saying where she was going. Out of all of the usual places Scootaloo would frequent – Sugarcube Corner, Snowflake’s Sports Emporium, Bon Bon’s Sweets, the Ponyville lakeside – not a single one of them had left any trace of the filly, and nopony she asked could provide her with the information she needed.

Not even Scootaloo’s fellow Crusaders, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, had seen or heard from Scootaloo that day. The clubhouse proved empty, too. Rainbow Dash was starting to grow worried as she looked towards the Everfree Forest, the accursed forest that has been known to attract foals seeking to be alone.

“I hope she didn’t go in there alone,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she looked down to the library beneath her. “… I guess I should get Twi to throw a search party together. Or maybe I should do one more lap, first. Just to make sure she’s not in the city.”

“Who?”

Rainbow Dash jumped higher into the air. She spun around quickly to find an arrogant-looking unicorn resting on a cloud behind her, laughing at the near-heart attack she just given the pegasus. “D-Don’t do that, you- Wait, how’re you-”

“Cloud-walking spell?” Trixie reminded.

“Yeah, but, how’d you get up here?”

Trixie patted the cloud that she was resting on. “Trixie borrowed this. It didn’t look like it was doing that much.”

“… You can’t just move clouds around like that,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You do it all the time,” Trixie pointed out.

“I have clearance to move them as I see fit! You don’t!”

With a shrug, Trixie used her magic to slowly move the cloud closer to Rainbow Dash. Very slowly… Very, very slowly.

“Oh for the love of-” Rainbow Dash shot forward to grab Trixie and lift her off of the cloud. She descended down towards the ground and gently placed Trixie down.

“Dumb cloud must be broken,” Trixie muttered.

“Or you’re just too heavy for it,” Rainbow Dash retorted with a smirk. “Hey, listen, about earlier-”

“Yes, about earlier,” Trixie said, leaning towards Rainbow Dash with a threatening glare. “The Great and Powerful Trixie demands an explanation as to what that was all about. Now!”

“Uh, well, you see…”

“Honesty is the best policy.”

Rainbow Dash gulped. Trixie narrowed her eyes and took a step back. “If you want to break up with Trixie, just come out and say it! Don’t waste her time with this dramatic build-up.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Break up- Why would you think I wanna break up with you?!”

Trixie shrugged. “It was just a hunch. ‘Leave me alone’, ‘I want to be alone’… It sure sounded like that’s what you wanted.”

It was now Rainbow’s turn to narrow her eyes and give her marefriend an angry look as she stepped forward, grabbed Trixie’s cheeks with her forehooves, and slammed their mouths together. The kiss lingered for a few seconds before the two parted, and stared intently into each other’s eyes. “And what does it seem like now?”

“… Now Trixie has mixed signals.”

Rainbow Dash sighed with a slight chuckle as she shook her head. “Come on… are you really such an idiot?”

“Coming from you, that’s most unflattering.”

“But it’s true, isn’t it? You thought I was trying to break up with you earlier? I just wanted to be alone at that time, that was all!”

Trixie’s face turned red as her eyes trailed off to the side. “W-Well how is Trixie meant to know that? It’s not like she’s been in a relationship before.”

Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath of air, leaned forward, and kissed Trixie again, this time only for a brief moment. “Right… I shouldn’t have snapped at you like I did earlier… Sorry about that, it’s just that I had something really important to take care of, and I didn’t want you to worry over it. Y’know, after everything else that’s happened to you lately, I wanted you to-”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not that weak, you know?” Trixie leaned forward to nuzzle Rainbow Dash, bringing a blush to the pegasus’ face. “Well, Trixie supposes she can forgive you, so long as you don’t do it again.”

“R-Right. Next time, I’ll just try to avoid you altogether.” Trixie kicked Rainbow Dash in response to her joke, and Rainbow Dash simply laughed as she moved to Trixie’s side to hug the showmare with her wing.

“So what was it?” Trixie asked. “The problem. Did you resolve it?”

Rainbow Dash fell silent for a moment as she recalled the still-ongoing problem at hoof. “Ah.”

With a sigh, Trixie moved her way forward out of Rainbow’s hold, and gave the pegasus a confident grin. “Well then, shall the Great and Powerful Trixie offer you some assistance?”

“Um, about that… The problem kinda escalated. You see…”

As Scootaloo paced through the woods, keeping her eyes on the path at all times to avoid getting lost – she wasn’t in the mood for that today – she mulled over her situation in and muttered to herself.

She was deep in thought about many things. Should she have told Rainbow Dash how she felt? Should she have just kept her mouth shut and let Rainbow Dash be happy with Trixie? Should she go and find Rainbow Dash and apologise? Should she go and find Trixie and apologise? Why did Trixie’s feelings not match up with her own?

“Scootaloo?” Scootaloo stopped and lifted her head with a startled gasp. “Why good afternoon, dear,” Rarity said as she approached the filly. “Whatever is the matter? You look so down.”

Scootaloo gave Rarity a questioning look. “W-What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong with me. Why would you think there was?” she asked, putting on a cool front.

“Well, you’re out here walking by yourself, as opposed to with your friends or riding your scooter,” Rarity pointed out. “In addition, you were walking rather slowly and with you head down. You looked just like Sweetie Belle whenever she’s sad.”

Scootaloo flinched and averted her eyes. “Uh, it’s nothing, really… I-I don’t wanna bother you over it.”

“Oh, it’s no bother,” Rarity said. “I’ve just finished up my work for the day and was simply taking a stroll through the woods in the hopes that the scenery might inspire me, but lending an ear to a dear friend takes top priority.”

“… W-Well, it’s just that…”

“Is it about your date last night?” Rarity asked. Scootaloo hesitated before giving a slow nod. “Oh, Scootaloo… Please, do tell me all about it. It’s best not to hold such things in, especially at your age.”

Tears began to fall down Scootaloo’s face as she tried hard not to think about Rainbow Dash. No matter how hard she tried to switch the topic in her mind, it would always find its way back to the pegasus she loved. “I… I…”

Scootaloo gasped as she felt fur against her face. Rarity had stepped closer to the filly and pulled her into a tender, loving hug. “There, there. First loves don’t always go well, but then, that doesn’t mean they will be your last loves.”

Scootaloo sniffed and eased into the hug. “I just feel so stupid. I never should have said anything in the first place. Now Rainbow Dash is gonna hate me forever.”

Rarity’s eyes widened at the name she heard. “… Scootaloo, dear, did you… tell Rainbow Dash that you…”

“I-It just happened!” Scootaloo shouted, rubbing her face into Rarity’s coat and soaking the fur with her tears. “I… I didn’t want to risk losing Rainbow Dash to that pony, so I just… I said… Rarity, I don’t understand… Why doesn’t my heart feel like it’s gonna burst out of my chest when I’m with Rainbow Dash? Why don’t my legs feel like jelly?”

Rarity patted Scootaloo’s mane in the hopes of calming her down. It seemed to work as the filly quieted down, now simply sobbing silently with the occasional hiccup. “What do you mean?”

“T-Trixie said that… that’s how she feels around Rainbow Dash…”

Rarity nodded. “Yes, well, that’s the typical reaction. But it’s not always the same for everypony… Tell me, Scootaloo: what do you feel whenever you’re around Rainbow Dash?”

“I feel… I feel brave, and confident, and I feel like I can fly if she’s there to guide me. I feel happy and I want her to look at me and tell me I’m awesome.”

“Do you feel that you always want to be around her, though?” Rarity asked, bringing Scootaloo to a sudden silence. “Do you feel joy the likes of which you’ve never felt whenever you see her?”

“… N-No… It’s more like when I see my dad after he gets home from work.”

“Do you feel like you’re on top of the world after you see Rainbow Dash? Do you feel lonely whenever you’re not with her but she is in your thoughts?”

“Not really,” Scootaloo said. “I just sorta think it’s cool to hang out with her and wonder what she’ll teach me next.”

Rarity was silent for a few moments, before she took a step back and lowered herself to look Scootaloo in the eyes. “Dear, do you think of Rainbow Dash… as a mare you love, or as a sister you love?” Scootaloo gave Rarity a confused – and almost fearful – look. “When you’re around Rainbow Dash, is it similar to when you’re around your friends, you father, or something entirely different?”

Scootaloo thought about it for a full minute, running all of her previous encounters with the pegasus through her mind and considering what she felt each time. “… I-It’s just like… when I’m with my parents…”

Rarity nodded. “It’s not love, is it?”

Scootaloo slowly shook her head. “But what if it is?” she asked. “I mean, she’s not my family, but I still feel this way towards her! I don’t want Trixie taking her away, so how can it not be love?!”

“Because if it was love… then I feel that you would prioritise Rainbow’s happiness above all else,” Rarity said. “Because that’s the type of pony you are. You said it yourself that you only started feeling this strongly about it when Trixie came into the picture. If it was truly love, then you should have felt something sooner…”

Scootaloo’s tears began to start back up again as she stared at Rarity. “T-That’s-”

“I’m sorry, Scootaloo,” Rarity said as she brought the filly into another hug. “But, look at this way: at least you first love wasn’t a total disaster.”

Scootaloo sniffed. “B-But I was so sure-”

“Love is a mysterious and difficult thing, but trust me when I say that, when you truly find the one that you love, you will know it.” Rarity gently nuzzled Scootaloo’s cheek, which seemed to calm the filly down. After a few minutes of allowing the sobs to leave Scootaloo’s system, Rarity asked, “Are you ready to go now?”

Scootaloo nodded. “I… I think so…” As Rarity rose to her hooves and offered to take Scootaloo’s hoof, the filly asked, “Do you think Rainbow Dash will be mad at me?”

With a gently smile, Rarity shook her head. “Of course not. In fact, I’m sure that her top priority is making sure you are okay.”

“But I-”

“It’s not wrong to love somepony. Even Rainbow Dash knows that.”

“… But I… didn’t really love her…”

“… In any case, I know she will- … Actually, why don’t you go and see for yourself?”

“Huh?”

“SCOOTALOO!” Rainbow Dash called as she walked with Trixie through the Whitetail Woods. “Are you out there?! Hey, are you sure she’s out here?”

“It wasn’t that long ago that the two of us met out here,” Trixie said. “If she’s not in Ponyville, then it would be likely that she’s still in here. Trixie doesn’t believe it’s possible for that filly to have reached the Everfree Forest from here in such a short space of time, especially without you seeing her.”

“Don’t underestimate her,” Rainbow said. “She’s got a knack for getting from one place to another faster than anypony can keep up with her.”

“Rainbow Dash!” The two mares stopped and looked further down the path, finding Scootaloo approaching the two of them, with Rarity following behind. “… H-Hey…”

“You’re okay!” Rainbow Dash said, jumping quickly to Scootaloo’s side to pat the filly’s head. “Thank Celestia! I thought you went into the Everfree or somethin’!”

“You found her?” Trixie asked Rarity, who nodded. “Well, thanks for that, but we can take care of the rest from he-”

“She told me everything,” Rarity said, sensing Trixie’s intent. “She told me of the… situation, between the three of you.”

Rainbow Dash’s smile fell as she was reminded of the difficult situation that she was still in. “Right, about that… Scootaloo, listen, I-”

“I’m sorry,” Scootaloo said quickly, turning her gaze to the ground. “I never should have said… that…”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and scratched the back of her neck. “Well, it’s not like it’s wrong for you to like somepony, but I can’t-”

“That’s just it though,” Scootaloo said. “I… I don’t like you in… that way. I just… I guess I…”

“You what?” Rainbow pressed.

“… You’ve been spending so much time with Trixie, and you wouldn’t even notice me. It’s like you were forgetting all about me, and I-”

“T-That’s crazy talk!” Rainbow Dash said. She looked down at Scootaloo and sighed. “But I guess you’ve got a point… I’ve kinda been spending a lot more time with Trixie than with any of my friends lately. But, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I was just having so much fun that it sorta slipped my mind, and…”

“I know… and I’m sorry,” Scootaloo said.

“No, I am,” Rainbow Dash returned. “I should’ve noticed you were feeling left out, being your big sister and all.”

A silence washed over the group for a moment, before Scootaloo lifted her head to ask Rainbow Dash, “Can we… still be like before? Y’know, sisters? Who like, hang out and do stuff together?”

Rainbow Dash smiled and lay a hoof on Scootaloo’s head, roughing the filly’s mane a little. “Of course we can. In fact, mayyyybe we can do something tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash turned to Trixie for confirmation, who simply sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Then I guess it’s settled. How would ya like ta do a little mountain climbing?”

Scootaloo gasped and nodded her head, a wide smile spread across her face. “That’d be awesome!”

“Cool! It’s a date!” Rainbow Dash said as she rose to her hooves. “Now, let’s get you home. I kinda gave your mum a scare when I asked her where you were.”

Scootaloo giggled as she walked down the pathway beside Rainbow Dash. “Yeah, she worries way too much.” As Scootaloo looked in front of her, she saw Trixie leading the group. “… Hey, Trixie?”

“Hm?” Trixie asked as she looked behind herself.

“I’m… sorry.”

“Oh, don’t mention it,” Trixie said with a grin. “Trixie never felt threatened by you anyway. You’re half her size, after all.”

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes and her face turned red. “Hey! At least I don’t go around wearing pyjamas all the time!”

“No, just bandages,” Trixie returned.

“Okay, you two,” Rainbow Dash said, looking between the two. “It’s been a long day. Can we just leave it at that for now?”

With a huff, the two turned their heads away from each other and continued to walk. Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head sadly, whilst Rarity could barely contain her giggles at the two ponies’ antics.

After parting with the other three, Trixie decided to return to her trailer and fix up some dinner. After reaching her trailer’s door, though, she was interrupted by a tugging at her cape.

“Who dares-” Trixie began as she turned around, gasping at the sight that befell her. Snips and Snails, completely out of breath, were standing before her with a large sphere of water and an empty bottle in their combined magic.

“W-We did… it,” Snips said, falling to the ground.”

“Did we pass?” Snails asked before also falling down.

With both of their magic auras gone, Trixie had to act fast to catch all of the water and the bottle. Looking down at the two, she found that they had simply lost consciousness, not died. She placed the bottle down and carefully filled it with water.

“… Just a little under the mark,” Trixie muttered, biting her hoof. “But how? As a filly, it took Trixie four days to complete this exercise…” Trixie gasped as it hit her. “Of course! They were working together! Trixie did this by herself and failed to account for their magical strength combined.

“But even so… even if they were in sync together, it still should have taken at least three days… Is this the extent of their resolve to learn magic? Or perhaps… to learn magic under my tutelage?”

Trixie examined the two once more, sleeping soundly on the grass before her. With a sigh, she collected the bottled water and the crystal that she had leant them. “Well, they didn’t pass the test just yet… but perhaps Trixie will not entirely hate helping these two to learn magic.”

Stepping into her trailer, Trixie closed the door behind her, leaving the two colts outside on cold grass… without any cover… with the sky slowly growing colder…

The door opened once more and a blanket flew from inside the trailer and landed on top of their bodies, before closing again.

16 - Something Stirs In The Night

Rainbow Dash lay awake in bed, staring up at the wooden ceiling above her as she listened to the sounds of the crickets chirping outside. It was a peaceful night, she was warm and snug under the covers, and the pillow beneath her head was almost as soft as the clouds she loved to sleep on.

It was almost a perfect night, but one thing was bothering Rainbow Dash: her foreleg was fast asleep, and she couldn’t move it around to wake it up. Because it was trapped under the sleeping frame of the Great and Powerful Trixie.

Rainbow Dash had already tried to simply pull her foreleg out, but Trixie was as heavy as she was stubborn. She had tried to nudge the other mare off of her foreleg, but whenever Trixie would start to stir in her slumber Rainbow Dash had to make a hasty retreat. She had simply waking Trixie up… but she couldn’t disturb that cute, peaceful face snoring away into her chest.

“Maybe I’ll get used to it after awhile,” Rainbow Dash mused quietly to herself. “… Wait, this is my writing leg. Will it still work if it doesn’t get any blood for a night? Where’s Twilight when you need her?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is far superior…”

Rainbow Dash jumped at the slurring sound of Trixie’s sleepy voice. She turned to find that Trixie was still snoozing away without a care in the world and decided that Trixie must have just been talking in her sleep. “… Wait, she responded to Twilight’s name by-”

“Got lucky last time. This time Trixie’ll beat yoooou…”

Rainbow had to suppress her laughter at Trixie’s automated sleep-response to her friend’s name. She also felt her heart aching from the overload of cuteness coming from her partner… though she didn’t know if that could also have been the result of the lack of blood going to her foreleg. Regardless, it reminded of the dilemma that she was still in.

“I can’t sleep like this,” Rainbow Dash grumbled as she extended a wing and brought it to Trixie face, sitting up so that she could tickle the edge of Trixie’s nose. “Maybe this’ll make her roll over a bit…”

Trixie’s snoring stopped and her face scrunched up as the feathers on Rainbow’s wing brushed up-and-down across her muzzle. She kicked a foreleg in front of her face, just missing Rainbow’s wing and making little noises that sounded like a mix between groaning and whining. Rainbow Dash had to bite her lip as she once again felt her heart beating faster.

“Ah… Ah… Ah…” The warning hit Rainbow Dash too late. As predicted, Trixie did indeed roll over… into Rainbow’s wing, and just before she unleashed the sneeze that was building up, before rolling away and laying down on her back. She was still on Rainbow Dash’s foreleg.

“… That didn’t go as planned,” Rainbow said as she held out her mucus-covered wing and gagged. She grabbed the bed sheet and wiped her wing clean. “Okay, last resort.” Rainbow Dash lay back down again and rolled closer to Trixie, wrapping her free foreleg around her so that she was embracing the showmare.

Trixie smiled and nestled herself into Rainbow’s hold. Rainbow Dash grinned and rolled over further, prompting Trixie to do the same. She rolled her just a little further, gently easing her towards the other side of the much-smaller-than-her-own-bed…

“Oops.” Rainbow Dash acted quickly and flapped her wings, holding onto Trixie to stop her from falling onto the hard, wooden floorboard beneath her. Rainbow moved Trixie over the bed and gently lay her back down, landing beside her and letting out a silent cheer at her free leg.

Looking over at Trixie, it seemed that the showmare was still fast asleep, blissfully unaware that she had ever taken her partner’s appendage hostage and almost suffered a splintered behind as a result.

The feeling was starting to return to Rainbow Dash’s leg, and gave a pleasant sigh as she sank back into the covers of the warm bed and snuggled up close to Trixie.

“Hey.”

Rainbow Dash groaned and waved her leg into the air.

“Wake up.”

Rainbow’s eyes slowly opened, revealing blurred darkness above her that slowly took shape. She could see the ceiling of Trixie’s trailer, and the face of the Great and Powerful one herself. “Whaisit?” Rainbow asked as she yawned. “It’s still early… I was having an awesome dream…”

“Too bad. This is an emergency.”

Rainbow rubbed her eye with her forehoof and gave a muffle grunt as a response. “What kind of emergency?”

“You’re sleeping on Trixie’s foreleg.”

Author's Note

"Only 800 words? You're pulling my leg!"

... Okay, terribad pun aside, this chapter is not the latest one I've been working on lately. It's just a cute little image I concocted in my mind this morning that I wanted to get down in writing. Think of it as a lil' bonus chapter whilst I just finish up the next one :3

18 - Seeking The End Of The Rainbow (Part II)

“Any time you wanna roll now, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash could only watch as Trixie stood at the base of a large beast resembling a lion, only ten times bigger, with magic fluctuating through her horn. “Why isn’t she rolling?!”

“Trixie rolls three,” Twilight’s voice announced. “Trixie’s spell strikes the monster’s paw, crippling it and providing a chance to escape.”

“You heard the mare!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew towards Trixie, who had just fired a beam of magic towards the lion’s paw. “Let’s get outta here!”

“So soon?” Trixie asked as she had no choice but to be swept off of the ground by Rainbow Dash. “But we can beat it!”

“That’s not a risk I wanna take! We can still feel pain, remember?”

Trixie pouted and looked back towards the fading beast in the distance. “You just don’t Trixie to have a higher kill count than you.”

“You caught me, but I also don’t wanna just stop at every monster that appears.”

“Trixie does suppose we don’t have all the time in the world,” Trixie admitted. “Fine then, we’ll try to avoid confrontations from now on. Now, can you put Trixie down?” Rainbow Dash slowed to a stop and nodded, placing Trixie down onto the ground.

“We’ve been going through this forest for ages,” Rainbow Dash said. “We don’t even know what we’re looking for…”

“You don’t know, but the Great and Powerful Trixie has already narrowed down the five most probably locations in this place where somepony would hide something they don’t want found.”

“You have?”

Trixie nodded and pulled out her map, unrolling it for Rainbow Dash to see. “There are a total of twenty-five significant areas that have yet to have any details at all mapped out, and of those, there are five locations that are surrounded by natural dangers and barriers, whilst also being far enough away from witches or pony forest-dwellers that they likely wouldn’t stumble across them.”

“Okay, but that’s still a lot of places to check,” Rainbow pointed out.

“Trixie suspects that if Tirek were going to hide something important, he’d want it as close as possible to himself in case he needed to get to it in a hurry. Therefore, we’re going to start with this marshland here.” Trixie pointed to an unmapped area on her map. “It’s the closest of the five suspect areas to Dream Valley, and it makes the most sense when you consider that the explorer was only killed after mapping out the whole area, seeing as how it is near to the edge of the forest.”

“What if you’re wrong?” Rainbow Dash asked, flinching at the heated glare she got in response.

“If, by some long shot, the Great and Powerful Trixie is wrong, then we shall simply have to try each area one-by-one. Now, shall we move out, or do you need some time to rest up?”

It was Rainbow Dash’s turn to glare and Trixie’s turn to flinch. “Nah, I’m good.”

“You sure? Trixie doesn’t want to risk you passing out whilst we’re walking.”

“I’m fine.”

Trixie approached Rainbow Dash with a sultry grin on her face. “Just to be safe, perhaps we should stop for a little bit so that the Great and Powerful Trixie can give you a little ‘energy boost’?” Trixie accented her approach with a swipe of her tail across Rainbow’s muzzle.

“Trixie rolls twelve. Her flirtations are a total failure and Rainbow Dash smacks her on the head to cool her down.”

“Wha-” Trixie bit her tongue as a hoof came hammering down onto her head. “OW! DASH, WHAT THE HAY?!”

“I-It wasn’t me! It did it on its own, I swear!”

Twilight groaned and slammed her hoof into her face, shaking her head at the board beneath her. “Honestly, can’t you two take this a little more seriously?! You’re both in grave danger!”

“Uh, Twilight? I don’t think we’re getting through to them.”

Twilight sighed as she regarded her assistant. “You’re right, Spike. It seems they can only hear me when I’m dictating their dice rolls and actions.” Twilight’s magic lifted a sheet of paper before her eyes. “This note I found in the back of the book… if only I had found it earlier.”

“I don’t get it. Can’t you just reverse the spell and get them out of there?”

“It doesn’t work that way, Spike,” Twilight said. “Even if I took the time to break the spell down and come up with a counter-spell, I’d have to fight against Tirek’s magic for it to be success, and if the history books are to be believed, I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“But the Tirek inside that world isn’t real, right? Didn’t you say it’s like a film reel constantly replaying the day of his defeat?”

“Tirek’s magic is beyond compare. Whatever is in that world is real so long as it’s in that world, and that include Tirek. Not just Tirek, but the Rainbow of Light, too. If Tirek were to get his hooves on that item, the result would be-”

Spike noticed the dungeon master’s sheet glowing and shouted, “Twilight, look!”

Twilight turned her full attention towards her sheet. “A surprise ambush by Tirek’s forces?” Twilight levitated the dice into her magic, ready to roll for luck, initiative, reflex, whatever may be tested… “What?!”

“What’s wrong?!”

“The dice roll didn’t come up! It just says that Rainbow Dash was struck with a poisonous arrow!”

Spike picked up the glowing book and looked down at the page it was currently on. “Twilight, take a look at this! ‘Playtime is over – now I will determine their fate’!”

“Oh no… This is bad. Very, very bad.” Twilight put a hoof to her chest and breathed as quickly as she could. “From the start, Tirek’s magic was in control of everything. The dice rolls were just to make us keep playing in case we hadn’t caught on, but now he’s taking that away, leaving Rainbow Dash and Trixie on their own!”

“That means we can’t help them?” Spike asked, receiving a slow nod from Twilight. “B-But what happens if they…”

Twilight brought a hoof slowly to her forehead and closed her eyes. “… Whatever is in that world is real… so long as it’s in that world.” Spike gulped. “Rainbow Dash has been poisoned, and Trixie’s magic isn’t at a high enough level to heal her. If she doesn’t get medical attention, she’ll…”

“There’re so many!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she limped backwards and pulled her arrow back on her bowstring, releasing it to strike one of the young dragon warrior’s approaching. “Why isn’t Twilight rolling anymore?!”

“Trixie has a bad feeling about all this! Maybe we should fall back!” Trixie heard the sound of wood clanging against the floor behind her and turned around to see Rainbow Dash kneeling down, grasping her stomach as she groaned. “A-Are you okay?”

“It hurts… Like a fire in my stomach…”

“It looks like this might be the end. Trixie doesn’t have the resources to heal you.”

Rainbow Dash tried her best to raise her head. “Y-You should go on your own, then.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah… I don’t really c-care much for this game, but I know y-you… were looking forward to- GAAAAAH!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Trixie ran towards the fallen mare, who screaming as she clutched her stomach, and didn’t notice until it was too late that a shadow was rising over her. Turning around, Trixie found the figure of a large, muscular stallion towering over her, a hoof raised in the air as if ready to smack her aside.

“Hey!” Trixie and the stallion before her both turned around just in time to find a bright light racing towards them, exploding as it passed Trixie and becoming a wall of light separating her from her foes.

“What was that?”

“It was a barrier to keep them at bay.” Trixie’s head snapped to her side, where she found a small, cloaked figure kneeling beside the fallen Rainbow Dash. A light was shining over Rainbow Dash, and her screaming slowed to a stop.

“… Huh? Suddenly, I feel fine,” Rainbow said as she slowly rose to her hooves, only to stumble and trip. Trixie quickly caught her with her magic. “Well, almost fine…”

“The poison hadn’t had enough time to spread completely through your system. I removed it before it could take any effect and closed up your wound.” The figure reached two purple, scaly hands to their hood and pulled it down. “Just like Twilight told me to!”

“Spike?!” Rainbow and Trixie shouted in unison.

“You’re playing, too?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I thought you were busy tonight!”

“How is your magic stronger than Trixie’s?” Trixie asked in a dejected tone.

“Well-” Spike began, only to be interrupted by the stallion on the other side of his barrier growling loudly as he kicked a forehoof against the wall of light. “We can talk later! We gotta run!”

“No arguments here. That arrow really hurt,” Rainbow Dash said as she steadied herself onto her hooves. Trixie offered her shoulder as a crutch and the three quickly turned tail to flee.

Twilight sighed. “It looks like they made it out of there…” Looking to her side at the character sheet she had made for Spike, she couldn’t help but have mixed feelings on the matter. “I suppose it’s an emergency, and not really a game, but still, I can’t help but feel that we’re cheating right now… I just hope that protection spell worked…”

“It sure is a good thing you came along when you did,” Trixie said as she soaked a rag in some water and folded it up, “But what tore you away from your comics? Decided it was boring to spend the night all by yourself?”

“I came in here to save Rainbow Dash,” Spike said as he focused his magic on Rainbow’s wounds. “Twilight fixed my stats so my healing and support powers are maxed out.”

“That’s cheating though,” Rainbow Dash said. “… Isn’t it?”

Trixie nodded and applied the wet rag to Rainbow’s wound, causing the pegasus to flinch at the touch. “Trixie never took Twilight to be much of a cheater. She always seems to play by the rules…”

“Well things changed when she found out this isn’t a game you guys got sucked into,” Spike said as he released his spell and put a paw to Rainbow Dash’s forehead. “Okay, I’ve done all I can.”

“Wait, go back to the part about this not being a game.”

Spike looked at Trixie, and then back at Rainbow Dash. “Well, Twilight didn’t know how to get you out of the book so she looked into it. There was a note on the back of the book that said this world, this entire book, is one big spell that was cast a long, long time ago, by some guy called ‘Tie-rack’.”

“Tirek?” Trixie asked.

“That’s the one,” Spike confirmed. “Twilight said that this world is a constant loop of the events leading up to his defeat. Apparently the note was a warning that used to be on the front of the book, but I guess it must’ve fallen off and somepony put it in the back without reading it.”

“So you’re saying we’re like, in the past or something?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Spike put a claw to his head and scratched his scales. “Not exactly. Let’s see, how did she explain it again? … She said that the spell on the book makes it like a film reel of the day it was cast, constantly on repeat. It’s not the past, just a vision of it, but as long as we’re inside the book then everything in it is real.”

“But why would Tirek make something like that?” Trixie asked. “If it is just a repeat of the past, then all he accomplishes is repeating the day that he lost. Who would want to relive their greatest failure over and over again?”

“That’s where the second enchantment comes in,” Spike said. “The ponies that enter this book are charmed. At a certain point, they’ll be put under a mind control spell to serve Tirek’s will.”

“Mind control?” Trixie asked, her hooves shaking as the rag fell from them. “Trixie has to go through that again?” she whispered as she leaned down to pick the rag back up.

“Twilight cast a protection spell on me, so I’ll be fine, and she said that Rainbow Dash is naturally immune to mind control.”

“I am?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Twilight and I had a discussion about this when Trixie asked her about the night you all battled Nightmare Moon,” Trixie said. “She said that the Shadowbolts tried to charm you into joining their side, but that their spell had no effect on her.”

“Wait, they used a spell?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I never noticed that.”

“You wouldn’t. Sensing magic isn’t your field of expertise.”

“But wait, Discord used his powers to make me betray my friends, and it worked.”

“Twilight and I came up with three possible explanations for why it worked in that scenario. The first is that Discord’s chaotic-based magic simply follows different rules than our own harmony-based magic.”

“The second is that you were convinced Cloudsdale would fall without you, but that the girls would be just fine,” Spike continued, earning surprised looks from the two mares. “What? I listen when Twilight talks! … Most of the time.”

“What’s the third theory?” Rainbow Dash asked. Silence was her only response. “What is it?”

“You may not like it,” Trixie said. “Our third theory was that your loyalty for Cloudsdale… simply outweighed that of your friends.”

“WHAT?! THAT’S CRAP!” Rainbow Dash shouted, pushing herself up off of the floor. She winced as she felt a pain in her abdomen and fell back down to the floor.

“L-Like we said, it is only a possibility,” Trixie said, placing her hooves on Rainbow Dash’s shoulders to keep her still. “Don’t take it too seriously, and try not to move about too much.” Suddenly, it hit Trixie like a ton of bricks. “Wait, that’s you two secured, but what about me?”

Spike averted his eyes and scratched his arm. “You’re… vulnerable to Tirek’s spell. It’s just a matter of time.”

“Y-You’ve got to be kidding me,” Trixie said, but Spike simply continued to look away. “… So, what, Trixie is just supposed to… accept her fate?”

“Why even bother controlling us?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What does that get him?”

“Remember, in this world, anything in it is real,” Spike reminded. “That includes the Rainbow of Light. Twilight said that the power of the Rainbow of Light is beyond compare. It can even make something out of nothing, or turn fantasy into reality.”

“There’s no way anything could be that powerful,” Rainbow Dash said with a snort.

“Who knows? But Tirek sure seemed to believe it, and to him, it’s his only chance of making a comeback.”

“I see,” Trixie said as she brought a hoof to her chin. “The Tirek in here is just a replica of the one from back then. He knows nothing, and has no intention of taking the Rainbow of Light or breaking free from this world. That’s why the real Tirek needed to make sure that there was somepony who’d do the job for him.”

“The whole RPG thing was just a disguise,” Spike concluded. “It was to draw ponies in by making it look like a friendly, innocent game, but in reality it was a trap. All he needed was one unicorn talented enough to use the spell.”

“But she hasn’t been controlled yet,” Rainbow Dash said, looking wearily at Trixie. “… Right?”

“It’s only a matter of time,” Spike responded. “We have to get the Rainbow of Light before Tirek’s spell takes Trixie.”

“But where is the Rainbow of Light?” Rainbow asked.

“Dream Valley,” Trixie muttered. “The ponies of Dream Valley, they should know.”

“Then that’s where we’re heading,” Rainbow Dash said, pushing herself up, only to fall back down again as a sharp pain passed through her back. “… In a few minutes.”

With a sigh, Trixie used her magic to lift Rainbow Dash onto her back. “This time, Trixie shall do the carrying,” she said as she turned her attention to Spike. “Let’s move quickly. We’re already at the edge of the forest so caution isn’t really necessary.”

Spike nodded. “I just hope ‘Dream Valley’ isn’t just a name.”

It was as beautiful day as any in Dream Valley, and after a long day of playing, Ember was beat and needed to rest up. She lay on the grass beside Twilight, the fresh summer breeze blowing against her coat. She looked up to see a butterfly gracefully flapping by.

“Twilight,” Ember asked the older pony, “Will I ever be able to fly like Firefly and Medley?”

“No Ember,” Twilight answered with a warm smile, “Not all little ponies can fly.”

“Excuse me.” The two ponies looked up from their resting spot to find a young baby dragon and a unicorn mare carrying a pegasus mare approaching them. “Hey, I was wondering if-”

“A dragon!” Ember shouted as she jumped up and hid behind Twilight.

“Ember, please,” Twilight said softly as she looked over her shoulder. “Not all dragons are-”

Twilight was interrupted by the sound of lightning. She looked up to see the sky being filled by dark storm clouds and raging thunderstorms, and gasped at the sight of Tirek’s minions approaching.

“Everybody, quick!” a pony shouted in the distance. “Come on!”

The ponies descended into chaos as they all ran as fast as they could away from the encroaching storm clouds. All except for Rainbow Dash, Trixie and Spike.

“It’s them!” Trixie shouted as she glared up towards the sky. “Tirek’s min-” Trixie gasped and froze in place.

“We have to get out of here!” Spike said.

“But the Rainbow of Light!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“We can get it later!” Spike assured her. “For now, we have to- GAH!”

Rainbow Dash gasped as she witnessed Spike falling to the ground, at the hooves of the Great and Powerful Trixie. “W-What’d you-” Rainbow Dash was thrown to the ground off of Trixie’s back, and could only look up in horror as the grinning showmare towered above her. “Lord Tirek’s plans must not be disturbed,” Trixie said as her horn lit up.

“Seize them!”

Trixie looked up to see Tirek’s minions closing in on their location. “I’ll leave you two as bait. I hope you enjoy your new home, for you shall be stuck here for all eternity. Once Lord Tirek is freed, this book shall become a prison for the two of you, and for this mare, as well.”

“Damn it! Let her go right now, or I swear I’ll-” Rainbow Dash was grabbed by something above her and pulled violently into the air. Below her, she could see Trixie vanishing in a flash of light. “TRIXIIIIIIIE!”

“This is bad,” Twilight said as she observed the stats on Trixie’s character sheet. “Tirek’s control has hit Trixie, and to top it all off, her stats have been boosted beyond the max! Oooh, maybe I should have gone in there, too… No. If they fail, and Tirek is freed, I have to be ready to get to Canterlot and warn the princess as fast as I can. Please, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Trixie… Please make it out of there alive and well.”

“Oof!” Rainbow Dash growled at her captive standing above her, holding her down to the ground with a hairy paw. “You bastard… You’d better let me go!”

“Quiet, pony,” the beast sitting on the throne before Rainbow Dash said, his figure hidden in dark shadows. “Guards, remove the small one.”

“You won’t hurt Ember?” one of the other captive ponies asked as the filly was taken away.

“She’s too small to pull my Chariot of Midnight, as you should have known, Scorpan.”

“Hey! Where’s Spike?!” Rainbow Dash demanded as she tried to rise to her hooves, only to find herself restrained by Scorpan’s hand and her own weakened state.

“I assume you mean the dragon that was capture alongside you? That beast dared to insult and lay his filthy paws upon me, and so he must pay the ultimate price.”

“Where is he?!” Rainbow Dash repeated.

“He has been sent to the guillotine. His scales should do wonders for my magic capabilities, if nothing else.”

“Y-You’re gonna kill him?! But he’s just a child!”

“Master, if I may, might the dragon not be more useful as a guard or a-”

“Scorpan, you should be more concerned for your own situation.” Footsteps sounded behind Scorpan, prompting him to turn and find a young, purple baby dragon being held at the neck by one of the guards laughing maniacally. “If by midnight I do not have a fourth pony, another head will roll. His!”

Scorpan gulped and slowly nodded his head. “U-Understood, Master.”

“Now, to demonstrate the powers that now hold you.” The figure rose and stepped forward, revealing a large, horned equine-like creature with two arms protruding from what should have been just a neck, but was instead much more broad. “Behold, the power of darkness!”

Tirek opened a bag, releasing a black gust of wind that surrounded the ponies, transforming two of them into dragon-like creatures, but leaving Rainbow Dash as she was. Closing the bag, Tirek gave the pony a curious look. “Well, you seem well protected,” he said. “I do not know what kind of magic you used to shield yourself, but I shall have my four minions of darkness, with or without you.”

Rainbow Dash gulped as a large finger was pointed right in her face. “M-Maybe the dark thingy just needs a recharge?”

“… Perhaps. We shall see tonight, but be warned that if you are of no use to me, pony, then your life will be forfeit. I have no use for a pony that cannot pull my Chariot of Midnight.”

Rainbow Dash sighed with Relief as Tirek returned to her throne and Scorpan left the room. She turned her eyes to the dragons that were once ponies and shivered before averting her gaze. Her eyes rested on the shimmer of red light coming from her neck, in the vague shape of a lightning bolt. ‘Spike, Trixie, please be alright…’

“Oh, it’s the rainbow! The Rainbow of Light!”

Megan took the small locket from the strange wizard, a look of wonder on her face.

“But it’s so small,” Bow-Tie pointed out as she looked over the supposed Rainbow of Light.

“Perhaps, but there’s no mistaking it.” The group jumped and turned around to find a blue unicorn mare standing behind them. “Without a doubt, that is the Rainbow of Light.”

“You’re that pony we saw earlier,” Twilight said as she approached Trixie. “Your friends were taken away, too. Did you come to help them?”

“Help?” Trixie chuckled, her horn lighting up as she extended a forehoof. “No. I came to seize the Rainbow of Light, for Lord Tirek.”

The ponies gasped and watched as Trixie swung her hoof into the side of Twilight’s face, knocking her to the ground, before unleashing a beam of energy to separate the group.

She teleported behind Megan swept her feet, dropping the girl to the ground and grabbing the locket in her magic.

“I won’t let you!” Firefly shouted as she grabbed the Rainbow of Light and pulled at it, only to find that it would not budge in Trixie’s magical aura.

“Bad move,” Trixie said, unleashing a spell that shocked Firefly. The pegasus screamed and released the Rainbow of Light as she dropped to the ground, her body twitching as she whimpered from the pain.

“Firefly!” Bow-Tie cried. “Why you-”

“It’s been fun, but I should be going now,” Trixie said, charging her magic.

“Not so fast!” Bow-Tie charged towards the unicorn, who simply grinned and unleashed her magic in the form of a scalding beam that hit the charging mare directly. “GAAAAAH! MY EYES!”

“If anypony else would like to experience such pain, just try to follow me,” Trixie warned, scanning the group to find nothing but terrified and angry faces pointed her way. “Well then, I suppose that’s that.” In a flash of light, Trixie was gone, along with the Rainbow of Light.

Spike struggled against his shackles with all of his might, but it was no use. The metal clasps binding his wrists were too strong to break through sheer force, and the magic of Tirek’s castle seemed to be weakening his own.

“Hey guys, c’mon now. You don’t really want to kill me, right?” Spike asked, smiling at the guards standing beside him as they exchanged nods. One of the guards, wearing a black sack over his head, approached the device that Spike was shackled to and gripped the lever. “No, please! I-I don’t wanna die yet, there’s still so much I haven’t done yet! I haven’t gone on my first date, or grown my wings, o-or even tasted a rare teardrop sapphire!”

“Lord Tirek ordered your death. His wishes are our command.”

Spike closed his eyes as he waited, praying for somebody to save him. “Please… TWILIGHT, PLEASE HELP MEEEEEEEE-”

“Hey.”

“EEEEEEEE-”

“Hey!”

“EEEEEEEEE-”

“HEY!”

Spike stopped his screaming and looked up at the beast standing before him. “Y-You! You’re the one who brought me here!” Scorpan raised a claw and brought it down, shattering Spike’s shackles with two swift strikes. Spike freed himself from the stock he was in and flexed his claws. “… But why?”

“Get out of here,” Scorpan said. “You’re just a kid. You should get out of here and live a long life.”

Spike narrowed his brow and shook his head. “No.”

“Are you insane?! If Lord Tirek finds out you’re not dead, he’ll surely finish the job himself! It’s too late for your friends now, but you can still-”

“No! I won’t leave my friends behind and escape myself! That’s not what they would do, and besides, it goes against my dragon’s honour code!”

Scorpan watched as Spike stormed past him, moving quickly towards the staircase leading down from the top of the tower they were both on. “And just what can you do to help them?”

Spike stopped for a brief moment. “I… I don’t know. But if I don’t do something, then nothing will change.”

“You… have made up your mind, I see. Fine, but a word of caution: sometimes subtlty is stronger than charging head-first into danger.”

Spike nodded. “Thanks. For your help, and for the advice.” Spike turned back towards the stairs and ran as fast as he could down the tower. “Okay, I still remember the way. I have to turn left at the bottom of the stairs, and then-” Spike stopped as he reached the base of the staircase, backing up quickly and clamping a claw over his mouth to stop any sounds from coming out. ‘N-Now what do I do?’

Tirek tapped his fingers against the armrest of his throne impatiently, his forehoof joining in by tapping against the floor as time continued to tick by.

Rainbow Dash kept her eyes on the dark figure, thinking of all of the ways she would hand his behind to him had the two guards to either side of her not been present.

“Well, I’d say that enough time has passed,” Tirek said finally as he rose from his throne. “Let’s see if my Rainbow of Darkness is ready yet.”

Rainbow Dash flinched. “Y-You call this night? It’s more like late-evening.”

Tirek reached for his bag and approached Rainbow Dash, who quickly backed as far back as she could before she hit the wall behind her.

“GAH!”

“OOF!”

Tirek turned his attention towards his throne room’s door. “What the devil?” Silence reigned for a few moments. “Guards, what are you waiting for? Find out what those noises were!”

“Yes, my lord!” of the guards answered as the two of them ran towards the door. They stopped as a blue mare entered the room, her horn glowing with purple magic.

“Out of my way,” Trixie said as she grabbed one of the guards by the throat with her magic. The second guard charged towards her, but she nimbly dodged under his incoming spear and delivered a kick to his gut. She then threw the first guard out of one of the windows and casually approached Tirek.

“Who are you?! Answer me, pony!” Tirek demanded as he aimed his bag at Trixie.

“Careful,” Trixie said. “You’ll destroy your only hope of breaking free from this prison.”

“What do you mean?”

“Trixie!” Rainbow Dash cried. “Trixie, don’t do it! This guy’s bad news, seriously! If he gets out, Equestria will be-”

“Silence,” Trixie hissed, casting a glare that silenced the pegasus instantly. “I serve Lord Tirek. Now behold, as the Rainbow of Light frees my master from this world!” Trixie closed her eyes and focussed her magic. The locket around her neck began to glow and floated up above her head.

Trixie gasped as she felt something on her back and turned around quickly, but saw nothing.

Rainbow Dash, however, saw a small purple dragon bouncing off of Trixie’s back and grabbing the locket from the air, clutching it tightly as he landed in-between Trixie and Tirek. “Got it!”

“You!” Trixie spat as she faced Spike.

“You’re alive. How odd.” Tirek’s eyes fell on the locket in the dragon’s grasp. “‘Rainbow of Light’? What is that? I have never heard of another rainbow outside of my own Rainbow of Darkness.”

“Trixie, snap out of it!” Spike shouted, ignoring Tirek’s questions. “Tirek’s just controlling you! Don’t let him trick you like this!”

Trixie’s magic grabbed Spike by the neck and lifted him up into the air. Despite suddenly being unable to breath, Spike refused to let go of the Rainbow of Light. “This book will soon reach its end, and then everything will reset. I do not have time to waste on you. Release the Rainbow of Light.”

“I… won’t…”

“Release it, or else face a slow, painful death.”

“Let him go!” Trixie turned to face Rainbow Dash, who was now standing on her hooves mere feet away from Trixie, her eyes narrowed. “Trixie, let him go. Now.”

Trixie’s grip loosened slightly, but she simply regarded Rainbow Dash with a neutral stare. “That’s right. You ponies are such sympathetic creatures. I wonder if dragons work the same way. If I kill you, will he release the Rainbow of Light?”

“D-Don’t!” Spike gasped.

“Come on, Trixie. I know you’re not a killer,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You don’t seem to understand. Your friend is no more.”

“Yeah? I don’t buy it! Trixie might exaggerate, but she is a strong pony! She wouldn’t let some creep like you take over her mind so easily! C’mon Trixie, fight it already!”

“You are beginning to bore me,” Trixie said, grabbing Rainbow Dash’s neck with her magic and pulling the pegasus over. “… Stop looking at me like that.”

Rainbow Dash’s determined stare never left her face, not even when Trixie tightened her grip. “Trixie, I believe in you.”

Trixie gasped and loosened her grip. “What? How did- What did you do?!”

“Heh. See that? I told ya she was still in there.”

Trixie gritted her teeth together and used her magic to throw Rainbow Dash towards the window… before casting a different spell to catch and bring the pegasus back towards her. “Damnit! She shouldn’t be able to do that!”

“Maybe you didn’t know this when you possessed her, but that pony there is the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’!” Rainbow Dash approached Trixie and placed her hooves on the showmare’s shoulders. “And she’s also my marefriend, which means I know she’ll pull through!” Rainbow Dash leaned forward and whispered, “I love you.”

“Rainbow… Dash…” Trixie roared and stomped her forehooves against the ground. “Silence, pony! Lord Tirek’s magic cannot be broken by faith alone!”

“Then how ‘bout some action?” Rainbow Dash asked before leaning in and kissing Trixie on the lips.

Trixie’s eyes widened as far as they could and her body froze up. The magic holding Spike disappeared, dropping the baby dragon to the floor. She felt Rainbow Dash pull away and it took a few moments before she finally reacted. “… D-Dashie…”

“You’re back?”

“Trixie doesn’t-” Trixie winced and grabbed her head. “Don’t… come back…”

Spike, after catching his breath, turned around upon seeing a dark shadow casting over him. “Uh, guys?” Spike slowly backed away from the slowly approaching Tirek, who did not seem amused by the romantic display before him. “G-Guys, think we can wrap this up?”

“Use your magic to keep him at bay!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“I can’t! There’s some kinda field stopping me!”

“It’s okay,” Trixie said. “Tirek, as me… defeated the wizards keeping the field up.” Trixie yelped as she lowered to her knees. “My head!”

“Fight it, Trixie! You can do it!” Rainbow Dash encouraged.

Spike raised his claws and channelled his energy, creating a large wall of bright light that halted Tirek’s advances.

“Fool!” Tirek raised his right fist and slammed it against the barrier, creating many sparks and eliciting grunts from Spike as he fought to keep his wall up.

“Trixie, I know you can beat him,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I couldn’t even beat Melody,” Trixie argued. “And I lost once before to the Alicorn Amulet, too.”

“But you’re strong, and you never give up! I know that from the time we’ve spent together so far.”

“Trixie couldn’t even defeat the ursa minor…”

“But you tried,” Rainbow Dash said. “You tried both then and against Melody, and after you took the amulet off you faced Twilight and apologised. You’re strong, brave, and you never give an inch!”

Trixie growled and slammed a forehoof into the hard floor beneath her several times, before slowly calming down. “What could courage possibly do for me now?! What good is determination if I don’t have the strength to fight it?!”

“You’re not alone this time, though!” Rainbow Dash shouted, drawing a startled gasp from Trixie. As Trixie seemed to settle down, Rainbow Dash put a hoof beneath the showmare’s chin and titled her head up so that she could stare into her eyes. “This time, you’re not fighting alone. If something’s too hard, just ask and I’ll help. There’s no reason to feel bad about asking for help when it really counts.”

“… Dash…”

“Guys, I can’t keep this up!” Spike shouted, dropping to his knee and lowering one arm. His other arm shook and his barrier wobbled against Tirek’s continuous pummels. “Hurry!”

“Trixie, you wanna go home?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Snips and Snails are waitin’ to learn new magic. Twilight likes having somepony to talk to about egghead stuff. The town square is ready for another great show from you. And… we still have a hot date in Cloudsdale to go to, right?”

Trixie’s breathing steadied. Her hooves lowered from her head and her eyes stopped trembling. “… That sounds good,” she said as she took Rainbow Dash’s hoof and raised to her hooves, a smile on her face mirroring her partner’s.

“And now, you die!” Tirek shouted as he punched his way through Spike’s barrier with one final strike.

“Trixie, the rainbow!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

Trixie nodded and used her magic to grab the locket from Spike’s claw. Spike happily let her take the Rainbow of Light and watched as she opened it up, releasing a tiny rainbow from inside.

“… That’s it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I-Is it… working?”

“Forget giving you the privilege of pulling my chariot,” Tirek said as he closed in on the group. “I will use my Rainbow of Darkness to turn you into creature so horrible, so grotesque, that not even the Nightmares will want to associate with you!”

“T-This is bad,” Trixie said as the three backed away slowly.

Tirek pointed his bag towards the group and opened it, unleashing a black gust of wind. The rainbow from Trixie’s locket shined as the black wind hit it, and the group watched in awe as the wind seemed to be absorbed into the rainbow, making it bigger and bigger.

“Whoa,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked herself over. “I feel… better. I feel great!”

“Suddenly, Trixie’s body is feeling very warm,” Trixie observed as she too looked herself over.

“This must be the Rainbow of Light’s power,” Spike said as the rainbow coiled itself around the three, wrapping around them as a multicoloured tornado that continued to grow in size. “I feel really light!”

“We’re being lifted off of the ground,” Trixie said, looking down to find herself floating in the air.

“What’s gonna happen?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Trixie wasn’t sure at first, but she then heard a voice in her mind that answered her question. ‘You guys, please hurry! Hurry and come back home!’

“That was Twilight’s voice,” she whispered. With a grin, she turned to Rainbow Dash and said, “We’re going home.”

A bright light shining from the book blinded Twilight’s field of vision and forced her to shield her eyes with a foreleg. When the light seemed to be dying down, Twilight slowly lowered her leg and took a peek at the book. She gasped as the sight of her friends graced her vision.

“You made it!” she cheered as she approached her friends quickly.

“It worked,” Trixie said as she examined her hooves and looked up at Twilight. She felt the familiar feeling of a wing wrapping itself around her and suddenly found herself being pulled towards Rainbow Dash to her side.

“Yeah it did!” Rainbow Dash shouted in an excited tone as she pumped a forehoof in the air.

Spike turned around to face the book and found it lying closed on the floor with the cover facing up. “What do we do with that?”

Twilight shuddered. “That’s one book best left unread, and that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say.” Twilight used her magic to lift the book and levitated it gently towards the desk beside her donations box. “I’ll take this to Princess Celestia tomorrow morning, first thing. Spike, could you write her a letter please?”

“I sure can!” Spike pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill and began writing away quickly.

“She’ll be able to store it somewhere where nopony can get their hooves on it ever again. We really owe it to that Megan pony. If it wasn’t for her note at the end, Tirek’s plan might have succeeded!”

“How did she write that note anyway?” Trixie asked.

“I guess she noticed the spell that Tirek had cast and realised what his plan was, so she wrote a note to warn others not to cast the spells in the book. Unfortunately, over the years, the note must have found its way to the back of the book and so we missed it…”

“I’m finished!” Spike declared. “The letter’s been sent! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some com… ic…” Spike trailed off as he yawned loudly into his hoof.

“It’s pretty late,” Twilight said.

Trixie looked up towards the clock on the wall and her jaw dropped at the time that she read. “We were in there for five hours?!”

“It’s almost midnight!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Man, I guess time flies when you’re kicking monster butt.”

Twilight levitated Spike onto her back before he could fall face-first onto the floor with his eyes closed. He snored away, curled up into a ball with his thumb in his mouth as Twilight turned towards her two guests. “Sorry girls, but I think Spike and I are going to turn in for the night. We’ll have to get up early to meet with the princess without destroying our schedule too much.”

“Yeah, I think we’re gonna hit the hay too,” Rainbow Dash yawned as she stretched her hooves. She leaned towards Trixie and whispered, “Don’t forget, you owe me one heck of a show.”

Trixie sighed and nodded her head. “Yes, yes, but at least wait until tomorrow morning. Even the Great and Powerful Trixie feels fatigue, you know?”

“Well, guess we’ll see ya later, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said as she made her way towards the library door.

“Good night girls. And sorry for everything that happened.”

“Think nothing of it,” Trixie said as she watched Twilight walk up the stairs, and then turned her head to find Rainbow Dash already out of sight. She quickly turned to the bookcase behind herself a levitated a book out of her cape.

“I didn’t realise you were a fan of the Minty series.” Trixie flinched at the unmistakable voice of Twilight Sparkle. She turned around to find a smile on the librarian’s face, surely a mocking one. “I was a big fan of them back in magic kindergarten.”

Trixie’s face exploded into a sea of red as she felt veins popping. With a huff, she threw the book towards Twilight with her magic, startling the other mare who could only duck to dodge the sudden attack. Twilight couldn’t say anything before Trixie disappeared in a shroud of smoke and the echoing of retreating hoofsteps.

“… What was that for?” Twilight thought aloud. “I thought she liked this series, too.”

Author's Note

Rescue From Midnight Castle is actually pretty fun. You should all go and watch it :3

Next chapter: Rainbow Dash visits her G3 counterpart!

... Nah, I'm just kiddin'. I wouldn't do that to ya :derpytongue2:

19 - Concerned About Appearences

It happened on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, a day that is usually filled with cheer and festivities all across Equestria. A day where ponies everywhere take a day off from their hardships and simply enjoy the longest day under their beloved sun. This year’s Summer Sun Celebration played out differently.

Trixie was putting on a show for a wonderful audience in the Crystal Empire when it happened. Black tentacles everywhere, ponies running in mass hysteria, the royal guard running around screaming about the ‘missing princesses’, and worst of all, Trixie’s how was left in shambles, literally.

The strange black tentacle ripped through Trixie’s stage as if it were made out of paper and destroyed most of the props inside. Taking whatever she could, Trixie made a swift retreat, only to find that the incident wasn’t only limited to the Crystal Empire; it was happening all over Equestria!

If Trixie had to choose, she would have to say that the incident with the near-eternal night was far more preferable to having to fend off a swarm of tentacles spewing strange gases and trying to coil around her, but at least the chaos didn’t last long before it disappeared just as suddenly as it had started.

With her stage ruined, Trixie had no choice but to finish her show on a small makeshift stage just in front of the Crystal Heart, before catching the following morning’s train back to Ponyville and find out what had happened. She had a hunch that a certain group of ponies would be able to shed some light on the mysterious happenings.

“You lost the Elements of Harmony?!”

Everypony in the marketplace stopped what they were doing and turned to the couple of blue-coated ponies, one covering her ears with her wings and the other looking as if she had just seen a giant bear walking down the street. After seeing that it was Ponyville’s resident loudmouths, the curious onlookers simply went back to their morning shopping.

“Take it easy!” Rainbow Dash said as she uncovered her ears and faced her distraught-looking marefriend. “We didn’t ‘lose’ them; we gave them up.”

“B-But why?” Trixie asked, her voice almost a whisper.

“Uh, to save Equestria?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as Trixie stood frozen before her, mouth agape.

Finally, Trixie sighed and lowered her head dejectedly. “And Trixie never even got to use them…”

“Really?” Rainbow asked in a disbelieving tone. “That’s what you’re bummed out about?”

“Well that and you also had an epic adventure without me,” Trixie added. “Instead of adventure, Trixie was stuck in the Crystal Empire fighting off what she could only assume were monsters straight out of a Neighpanese porno.”

“Hey, at least you didn’t have to go into the Everfree Forest and fight a giant rockadile.”

“You saw a real live rockadile?!” Trixie sighed once more. “Trixie never should have gone to the Crystal Empire. She even lost her stage and only made about fifty bits…”

“Yeah, meant to ask: where’s your stage?” Rainbow Dash looked around, confirming that Trixie’s stage was nowhere to be seen.

“It was destroyed,” Trixie leaning forward and burying her face into Rainbow’s shoulder. “Completely demolished, down to the last splinter,” she muttered into Rainbow Dash’s fur.

“Oh… Uh, sorry to hear that…” Rainbow Dash glanced around nervously, found that nopony was really paying the two much attention, and slowly brought a hoof up to pat Trixie’s back. “But it was insured, right?”

“No,” Trixie said simply.

“You didn’t have it insured?”

“Couldn’t. The insurance companies denied Trixie when she told them of the haphazard lifestyle she leads and the bone-chilling dangers she faces on a daily basis.”

Rainbow Dash removed her hoof from Trixie’s back and connected it to her own face. “You gotta be kiddin’ me.”

“FYI, Trixie also doesn’t have medical insurance.”

“Well we can deal with that later,” Rainbow Dash said as she pushed Trixie away. “First thing’s first. We’ve gotta get you a new trailer.” Trixie pouted and looked down at the ground, kicking at the dirt with a hoof. “… What?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is short on funds…”

“What happened to the money you were saving?”

Trixie grinned sheepishly and put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well…”

“IRON WILL NEVER FOLDS! ALL. IN.” Everybody at the table gasped and turned their attention to Trixie, who simply grinned and pushed her pile of chips forward.

“All in. As if somepony as great as Trixie would lose to a muscle-brained minotaur such as yourself.”

“Iron Will thinks you should have quite while you were ahead!” Iron Will flipped his cards to reveal a four of a kind. “Now it’s time for the children to go to bed!”

Trixie’s smirk never fell as she revealed her own cards, showing a straight flush that turned Iron Will’s skin pale.

“The player wins the hoof!” Iron Will and Trixie turned wide-eyed as they turned to their mysterious opponent, who was raking in the huge pile of chips thanks to his royal flush hoof.

Trixie’s eye twitched as she realised she had just blown over two hundred bits, thanks to the intimidations of a loudmouthed minotaur.

“Trixie misplaced it,” Trixie said with an innocent smile.

Rainbow Dash’s face gave no indication of her giving the benefit of the doubt, though to Trixie’s relief the pegasus didn’t press her harder on the matter. She simply uttered, “Uh-huh…” and nodded her head once slowly. After that, she smiled and moved to Trixie’s side, wrapping a wing around the unicorn. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you’ve been makin’ all those friends around here! I’m sure Applejack wouldn’t mind helpin’ you out. She’s pretty good with her hooves, y’know?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Admittedly Applejack was the first pony to enter Trixie’s mind when she thought of acquiring a new trailer, but even if she’s a friend, she’ll surely still want payment for her time.”

“Probably, but you can just ask her to start a tab,” Rainbow said in a confident tone. “I mean it’s not like her brother can’t fill in for her for a couple of days, right?”

“I suppose it is worth asking,” Trixie admitted, before leaning into Rainbow’s side and nuzzling the pegasus’ neck. “Trixie will also need someplace to stay for the next few days. You wouldn’t happen to know somewhere that’s rent-free, would you?”

“Sure do,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. Trixie moved back and smiled back happily. “Applejack has a guest bedroom at her farmhouse.”

Trixie frowned and gave Rainbow Dash a flat stare. “Please tell Trixie you were joking,” she said with a sigh.

“Well, where else were you plannin’ on staying?”

Trixie saw the grin on Rainbow’s face growing by the second. It angered her, not just because she knew what the pegasus was doing, but because she knew that Rainbow was winning. Trixie’s face turned red but her mouth remained closed for a few seconds, before finally opening as she said, “With you, obviously…”

“Oh! I hadn’t considered that!” Even the Spirit of Honesty would have called that attempt at lying pathetic. Rainbow Dash simply giggled at the threatening glare being sent her way. “Welllll, I suppose you could stay with me for a few days.”

“Then it’s settled!” Trixie said quickly, pointing her nose into the air as Rainbow Dash suddenly looked confused. “Well then, Trixie has some things from her trailer she would like you to move up to your house.”

“What? Why me?”

“You would have a lady such as Trixie strain her horn and her back from heavy lifting?” Trixie asked through quivering lips and wide, sparkling eyes. Rainbow Dash only gave a deadpan stare, until Trixie returned to normal and added, “Besides, Trixie can’t fly, remember?”

“Oh… Yeah, I guess that would make moving things up to the sky difficult…”

“Trixie has left her things in the care of Twilight Sparkle for now,” Trixie told Rainbow Dash as she turned to leave down the street. “As yesterday was such a stressful day, Trixie will be taking some time to relax at the spa. When you are done with the moving come and find Trixie so that we can move onto Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Why can’t you go there yourself?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Trixie recycled her quivering lips look once more. “You don’t want to spend time with the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Rainbow Dash simply sighed and rolled her eyes, and then jumped as she felt Trixie’s lips against her cheek. “So we’ll go together then?”

“… Fine,” Rainbow sighed in defeat. She watched as her marefriend chuckled victoriously and left down the street, stopping for just a moment to wave goodbye. As Rainbow Dash waved back, she heard giggling off to the side and looked around for the source. It was two ponies she knew well, Bon Bon the sweetshop owner and… Okay, one pony she knew well and one pony whose face she knew but whose name eluded her. “What’s so funny?” she asked as she approached the two.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” Bon Bon insisted as she slowly ceased her laughter. “Lyra and I-”

‘Lyra! That was it!’

“-Were just watching the two of you and thought that it was rather… cute.”

Rainbow Dash wanted to gag at being called ‘cute’. “You make a way better husband than Bons here,” Lyra said.

“I told you, I’m not the husband,” Bon Bon said, glaring at Lyra.

“Well I’m sure as hay not!” Lyra returned. “My mum’d kill me if I walked down the aisle in a tux!”

“Uh, what are you two talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Bon Bon waved her hoof dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry about it. Lyra insists that I’m the husband and-”

“No, I got that. But what d’you mean by ‘husband’? Aren’t you both mares?”

The couple exchanged glances with each other, before both giggling, which only served to annoy Rainbow Dash. “Oh, sorry,” Bon Bon said as she collected herself. She cleared her throat and explained. “It’s not literal, of course. It’s just something same-sex couples like to use to distinguish their roles in the relationship. You know, like how some couples have top and bottom, or master and slave?”

“Okay, okay! I get it,” Rainbow said with a blush as she looked around nervously. “So, you think I’m the husband?”

“Well, duh,” Lyra said. “And a totally whipped one, at that. That mare’s got you wrapped around her hoof.”

“I am so not whipped!” Rainbow Dash argued. “And I’m not the ‘husband’, either.”

“Hate to say it, buy you kind of are,” Bon Bon said. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just that you’re… how should I say it?”

“A totally tomboy,” Lyra said bluntly. “Also you act like a colt hopelessly in love sometimes.”

“I do not!”

“Man, they sure do take their time gettin’ dressed, don’t they?” Rainbow Dash asked Applejack as the two waited downstairs in Carousal Boutique for their marefriends to finish preparing for their double-date.

“Ah’m used ta it by now. Ya should see how long ah have ta wait when Rarity starts talkin’ fashion with somepony.” The two simply stared at each other for a couple of seconds in silence before Applejack turned her attention towards a nearby clock. “So… what’s new?”

“Uh, not much… You?”

“Not much either.” The two fell silent for a few more seconds. “Ah mean, besides Rarity planning this whole double-date thing.”

“Ah, yeah, yeah…”

“Sorry for the wait. We are ready now!” Rarity announced as she descended the stairs.

“About time,” Rainbow said as she stood up. “Took you two long enou-” Rainbow Dash froze as she saw Trixie trailing behind Rarity, dressed in new gown and makeup that radiated beauty, with her hair done up and an intoxicating aroma drifting from her body, like a field of flowers in a gentle summer’s breeze.

Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash to revive her and the pegasus quickly straightened up, approaching Trixie like a robot as she silently gave her date the bouquet of flowers she had purchased earlier. “Oh. Such a gentlecolt,” Trixie giggled as she accepted the flowers. She leaned in a gave her date a peck on the cheek.

Rainbow Dash could only break into a stupor of nonsensical noises as the scent of Trixie’s shampoo, as well as the perfume she was wearing, assaulted Rainbow Dash’s nostrils.

“What?! This game must be rigged!” Trixie stated as she growled angrily at the owner of the carnival stall.

“Sorry, ma’am! Maybe next time!” the smiling pony on the other side said as he turned away with laughter.

“Fine, one more time then!”

“You’ve already tried ten times!” Rainbow Dash complained as she slammed both of her forehooves into her face, sitting on the ground beside Trixie with her back to the stall.

“And Trixie shall try another fifty times if she has to!”

Rainbow Dash got up and stretched her body. “You already have a bunch of stuffed toys in your trailer-”

“They are not toys!” Trixie corrected with a blush. “They are collectibles! Trixie simply likes to collect odd things is all.”

“Whatever. Point is, do you really need another one?”

Trixie pointed to the stuffed toy in question that she was trying to obtain: a large panda bear with a bamboo shoot in one paw, nibbling away at the snack with a happy smile on its face. “The Great and Powerful Trixie wanted this in her collection as soon as she laid her eyes on it! It’s just like the one from her first collection, before it was destroyed!”

Rainbow Dash gulped at the determined – and almost desperate – look on Trixie’s face. “Ugh, fine,” she said, seeing that Trixie would not give in… and a part of her not wanting to let Trixie down. “Here, let me try.”

“Like you’ll do better,” Trixie muttered angrily.

“Not like she could do worse than you,” the pony at the stall said, causing Trixie to growl once more.

Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow and slammed two bits onto the stall, before grabbing the water pistol from Trixie and aiming it. In one shot, she nailed her first target. In two shots, she nailed two, and so on. By the time that Rainbow Dash racked up enough points for the prize Trixie wanted, she still had one shot left. She aimed her weapon at the pony on the other side of the stall and grinned as she pulled the trigger.

“Wow… you actually did it!” Trixie exclaimed with grin, using her magic to grab her prize and bring it down towards herself.

“Keen eyes of a flyer,” Rainbow proclaimed proudly, puffing out her chest and holding her head up high. “Now can we get going, please? I wanna-”

“Oh, a ‘test-your-magic’ game! A perfect chance for Trixie to redeem herself!” Trixie levitated her new plush toy towards Rainbow Dash. “Here, hold this,” she said before taking off towards the game in the distance.

Rainbow Dash simply sighed followed after her with the panda on her back.

“Excuse me, miss.” Trixie turned to the stallion addressing her. It was a stallion who had apparently borrowed his wardrobe from the sixties that was talking to her. “I couldn’t help but notice you were alone and was wondering if maybe you’d rather spend your time with a stud like me.”

A blue hoof tapped the stallion’s shoulder from behind, causing him to turn around. Rainbow Dash grabbed the stallion’s collar as he faced her and leaned in close with a threatening glare. “Hey, pal, she’s with me. So buzz off, before I buck you into whatever time period your clothes are from!”

The stallion let out a small cry of terror before quickly nodding. Upon his release the frightened pony fled quickly, leaving the two mares behind. Rainbow Dash gave Trixie a concerned look as she scanned her marefriend’s body. “Are you okay? He didn’t get rough on ya, did he? You should’ve used your magic on him or something!”

Rainbow’s ramblings were cut off by the laughter coming out of Trixie’s lips. “Seriously, Rainbow?” Trixie asked through her laughter as she wiped a tear from her eye. “All he did was approach Trixie, and you freak out like Fluttershy when her animals find her sewing kit.”

Rainbow Dash simply puffed her cheeks and turned away. “Well excuse me for just lookin’ out for my marefriend!”

“… I so do not,” Rainbow Dash reaffirmed after consulting with her memories. “Okay, so I’m a little more coltish than Trixie is-”

“Uh-uh. Spike is a little more coltish,” Lyra said.

“Spike is a guy, you know?” Bon Bon asked Lyra.

“… He is?” Lyra shook her head to clear the thought. “Anyway, my point still stands. In your relationship, you totally wear the saddle.”

“No, that would be Trixie,” Bon Bon corrected. “Traditionally, the wife wears the saddle. It’s from a time where males were the dominant sex, before Equestria was even founded.”

“Huh. You learn something new every day.”

“Yeah, well here’s somethin’ else,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m a MARE!”

“Yes, we get that,” Bon Bon said. “But are you a ‘mare’ mare, like Rarity is?”

“Or are you just a stallion in a mare’s body? Y’know, like Applejack? Or her cousin Braeburn?”

“Again, Braeburn is a stallion.”

Lyra held her head in her hooves and slammed it down onto the table before her. “It’s hard to tell! They’re both so girly!”

“So you two think… I really act like a guy?” Rainbow Dash asked, a worried look on her face as she glanced between the two.

“Nopony ever told you?”

Rainbow Dash tried to say something, but she didn’t know what to say. So she instead simply settled with: “Yeah, well, what do you know?!” and then fled.

“You want to know if I see you as a tomboy?” Twilight asked with confusion in her voice. She bit her lip as she looked away from Rainbow Dash and focused on her open book. “Well, I wouldn’t say… that is, I don’t think… verily… ergo…”

“Yeah, you’re a total tomboy,” Spike said as he entered the room from the kitchen, carrying a box in his claws. “No doubt about it. Nothing remotely ladylike about you.”

“Spike!” Twilight scolded, glaring at her assistant.

“Twilight, please,” Rainbow Dash pleaded, “Tell me the truth.”

“Well, I don’t know if I would say there isn’t anything ladylike about you,” Twilight said as she scuffed a hoof against the floor, doing her best to look away from Rainbow Dash as she answered. “I mean, you do like a lot of ‘guy things’ and you don’t exactly like ‘girly’ stuff, but I don’t think that means-”

“Ugh, you’re right!” Rainbow Dash shouted, falling onto her back and placing a foreleg over her eyes. “I even talk like a guy sometimes!”

“But why should it matter? I mean, you’ve never let it bother you before.”

“Because nopony ever pointed it out before! I don’t want everypony to think I’m the ‘husband’. I’m a girl!”

“Well, sorry, Rainbow Dash, but when you compare belches and hold wingball nacho parties that only stallions go to, ponies are going to say things about you like that.” Twilight tapped her chin in thought. “Maybe what you need is a little image change if you want ponies to think differently of you, though personally, I think that-”

“What kind of image change?” Rainbow Dash interrupted, back on her hooves and staring at Twilight with a look of determination.

“Well, I can’t really help you there. I never tried to fit in with gender norms…” Rainbow Dash sighed as she lowered her head and Twilight frowned in response. “But if it helps, I’ve researched lots on the appearance and roles of mares in the middle ages.”

“Somehow, I think that’ll just give ponies an even worse image of me.”

Twilight shrugged. “Then all I can suggest is that you talk to somepony else who might have more knowledge in this field.”

“… Like Rarity!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, a smile on her face as she turned to the library’s front door. “She’ll know what to do!”

“But Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said quickly, before her friend could leave, “Maybe you should just… be yourself, and not worry too much over what others say about you.”

“Twilight, I’ve been called many things in my life.” Rainbow Dash opened the front door and spread her wings. “But no matter what anypony called me, I never once thought that anypony saw me as a colt.”

Twilight sighed as Rainbow Dash took off into the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, returning to her book in silence until her faithful assistant spoke up. “Uh, wasn’t she going to collect all this stuff?”

Twilight turned around to find the boxes of Trixie’s belongings stacked up in the corner of the room, blocking the stairway to the upper floors, and frowned. “… We’ll just have to hold onto it a little longer. Until then, could you move it all back into the kitchen for me?”

Spike moaned, rubbing his sore little arms before leaning down and picking up his first box. “I still don’t see why you can’t move it all yourself,” Spike muttered angrily as he carried the heavy box back into the kitchen.

Applejack looked up at Rainbow Dash, running the story she had just been told through her mind and analysing Rainbow’s face to see if she was serious or if she was just messing around.

Rainbow Dash fluttered above Applejack, giving her friend a serious look as she waited anxiously for a response. Applejack certainly wasn’t the smartest pony around, but she was one of the wisest that Rainbow Dash knew, and also one of the few ponies Rainbow Dash felt total confidence confiding in.

Applejack saw the beads of sweat down Rainbow Dash’s brow and knew that she was serious. That was when her mouth curled up and a stifled laugh escaped her lips. She made no further attempts to hold it back. It was just all too much for her.

“Boy, Rainbow Dash, ya sure had me goin’ there,” Applejack said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Sorry, it’s just that ah can’t imagine Rainbow Dash getting’ all worked up over something so silly. It just ain’t like you!”

“What d’you mean by that?! I’m always working on my image!” Rainbow Dash argued.

“Yeah, as the coolest and fastest pony in Equestria,” Applejack replied. “No offence, Dash, but ya don’t exactly come across as a mare concerned with her sexual identity.”

“Well, I am, okay?! Now are you gonna help me or not?!” Applejack simply laughed once more, causing Rainbow Dash to heat up as she began fuming at the mare beneath her.

“Oh boy, this’s too much,” Applejack said as she finally calmed down. “A-Ah’m really sorry, Rainbow, but ah really can’t help mahself. Ah mean, of all ponies, ah never would’ve thought ya cared so much about bein’ seen as a mare.”

“Isn’t that normal?” Rainbow asked, lowering to the ground slowly with a blush.

“Maybe for most ponies, but ah always saw you as somepony who jus’ wanted ta be known for her deeds an’ abilities, not for bein’ a girl.”

“Well of course I want ponies to know I’m a girl! I mean, what about you? Don’t you want everypony to know you’re a mare?”

Applejack simply shrugged. “All ah care about is helpin’ mah fellow pony. To be perfectly honest, ah don’t think ah’d mind at all if everypony thought ah was coltish or not.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Man, I wish I had could say the same thing.”

Applejack approached her friend and reached a foreleg around her shoulders. “Hey now, ye’re takin’ this too hard. Ah mean, ya’ve done amazin’ things, an’ ye’re practically a hero ‘round these parts. So what if someponies think ye’re a tomboy? It don’t change who you are!”

Rainbow Dash simply shook her head as she stepped away from her friend with a solemn look on her face. “You don’t get it,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

“Ah don’t?” Applejack scratched the back of her neck nervously. “Well, sorry, Rainbow Dash. Ah wish ah could be of more help.”

“I mean, everypony thinks that we’re like stallions, right?”

“Well, ah- Wait, ‘we’?”

“And I guess you’re right about how it doesn’t change who we are.”

“Hold on, what did ya mean by ‘we’?”

“And Twilight had a point with how it’s just the thoughts of other, random ponies.”

“Ya mean ponies really think that of me?”

Rainbow Dash sighed and fell to her haunches, resting her chin on her forehooves. “But what about my dad? I want him think of me as his daughter, not his son. And then there’s Trixie. I don’t want to drive her away by being too ‘stallion’ around her. I’m sure you don’t mind what Rarity thinks, but I-” Rainbow gasped as a thought came to her. “That’s it! Rarity! Why didn’t think of her before?! Thanks AJ! I knew talkin’ with you’d help!”

“Wai-” Rainbow Dash pushed off into the air and blasted forward with enough speed to leave a rainbow trail behind before Applejack could stop her. “HOLD ON! WHAT DID YA MEAN BY ‘WE’?!” Applejack continued to stare up into the sky with a worried look on her face. “Does everypony… think ah’m stallion-like, too?”

Trixie tapped her hoof against the ground outside of the Ponyville Day Spa. Her coat had been bathed, her muscles had been relaxed, her tension washed away and her mane groomed. It had been nearly two hours since she had arrived, and yet she was still waiting. “It shouldn’t take this long to move Trixie’s things…” There was still no sign of Rainbow Dash. Trixie sighed and wondered if she should just head on down to Sweet Apple Acres on her own.

“Sorry I’m late.” Trixie looked ahead of her to find a blue pegasus pony approaching, one that resembled Rainbow Dash in hair and coat colours… but not in any other way at all. “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

Trixie felt her brain stop as she looked over the unknown pony before her. The hair was similar to Rainbow’s, but a lot more tidy and… fancy. It was done up in a bun and a straightener had clearly been used on it. Her eyes were the same, but the eye shadow around them was a new feature. As was the lipstick, and the clipped on ruby earrings dangling from each of the pony’s ears.

A necklace and a couple of bracelets around her right foreleg, a pink dress for casual outings, a little blue ribbon around the base of her tail… There was no way that this was Rainbow Dash. Sadly, Trixie wasn’t fooling herself with that.

“Dash, what’s… all that?”

Rainbow Dash smiled as she slowly, gracefully approached Trixie. “Oh, I just thought I’d change my image a bit. What d’you- I mean, what do you think?”

Even Rainbow’s voice was different. It was softer, more refined, and her speech was slower. “Why are you talking like that?”

Rainbow frowned. “Is there something wrong with me talking like this… darling?” Rainbow’s eye twitched at that last word.

Trixie stared at Rainbow Dash suspiciously. “Well, yes. It’s not at all like how you normally speak.”

“Uh… W-Why, I told you: I’m trying a little image change, that’s all.” Rainbow Dash looked around for a moment. “Um, why don’t we stop by the flower shop on our way to the farm?”

“You like flowers?” Trixie asked in a disbelieving tone.

“Sure I do,” Rainbow said with a nod. “They, uh, are pretty, and they smell nice, and uh…”

“Okay, what’s your favourite flower then?”

Rainbow Dash froze for a second. “All of them?”

Trixie sighed. “Okay, what’s going on? What’s with the clothes, and the makeup, and…” Trixie closed her eyes and sniffed the air. “… Is that perfume?”

“Just… want to look pretty for my date. Is that a problem?”

“It’s hardly what Trixie would call a ‘date’. We’re just walking down to the farm together.”

“Well, then, I wanna look pretty for our walk! What’s the big deal?!” Trixie gave a deadpan stare in response and Rainbow Dash sighed. “Alright, fine… Ponies see me as a tomboy…”

“They do!?” Trixie exclaimed in mock surprise. “Well call the Foal Free Press. We’ve got the headline of the century for them!”

“Har har. Look, I didn’t even notice until somepony pointed it out today.”

“And… it bothers you?”

“Of course it bothers me! I’m a mare! Why is that so hard for ponies to see?”

“Well it’s not that they don’t see you’re a mare,” Trixie clarified. “Just that you don’t act like one.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Rainbow Dash replied with a roll of her eyes. “I dunno, I guess I’m just tired of ponies thinkin’ of me that way, y’know?”

“Is that all?” Trixie asked. “Trixie can’t really imagine you would let something so silly cause you to…” Trixie simply gestured to the ensemble that Rainbow Dash was wearing, which the pegasus looked over with a light blush.

“… Well, I also didn’t want you to think… I was too coltish or something…” Rainbow Dash admitted, kicking a hoof against the ground. “I mean, you like mares, so-”

“Rainbow Dash, perhaps you hadn’t noticed, but we’ve been dating for a few months now. In that time, has Trixie shown any indication that she is losing interest in you?”

“Well, I guess not, but-”

“Trixie likes you as you are,” Trixie interrupted. “Sure you might not be Rarity levels of ladylike, but that cool and tough side of you is part of what draws me to you.”

Rainbow Dash stared wordlessly at Trixie for a second before the unicorn leaned in and kissed her. After she backed away, Rainbow grinned. “Heh, you’re right… I mean, I like you the way you are, too, even if you are a bit…”

Trixie’s horn glowed. “Choose your next words carefully, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow decided to take the safe route and end her sentence there. She then looked down at the dress that she was wearing and gagged. “Did I really let Rarity dress me up like this?”

Trixie giggled. “Perhaps we should get that dress and that makeup off of you.”

“Feeling better?” Trixie removed the final wet wipe from Rainbow Dash’s face and allowed her marefriend to see herself in a small mirror.

“Uh, yeah… Man, that stuff was so not cool,” Rainbow Dash said as she admired her original face in her own reflection. “I guess I got a little caught in everypony’s opinions that I forgot something important.”

“To always be yourself regardless of how others see you?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, not that. The lesson is that my opinions are better than anypony else’s!”

Trixie laughed and brought a grape to Rainbow’s mouth. “But y’know, you do have a cute side sometimes.”

Rainbow scoffed and snatched the grape with her teeth. “As if. Rainbow Daring Dash is nothing but fifty percent cool, fifty percent awesome and fifty percent amazing!”

“Then you must be minus fifty percent book smart,” Trixie responded with a grin. “Also, your middle name is Daring?”

“Yup! Got it changed couple of months ago. Didn’t I tell you that?”

Trixie shook her head and reached for her hay smoothie. “I should probably be more amazed that you did that, but really it isn’t that surprising to me.”

“Twilight was thinking of changing her own name to Starswirl but her brother talked her out of it.”

Trixie snorted as she laughed through her smoothie. “… Princess Starswirl, huh? That would be pretty funny.”

“Oh horseapples!” Rainbow suddenly exclaimed. “I totally forgot to move all your stuff to my place!”

Trixie’s eyes widened and she looked up towards the sky. “Are you serious?! It’s already getting late!”

“Uh, yeah… Sorry ‘bout that. I guess I could go do it now, but-”

“Well it looks like Trixie has no choice.” Trixie finished her smoothie quickly and jumped out of her seat. “It looks like the Great and Powerful Trixie will have to help you after all.”

“Huh? Wait, I thought you couldn’t ‘cause you can’t fly.”

“Trixie never said that, did she?” Trixie grinned as she approached Rainbow Dash steadily. “You made that conclusion all on your own. Trixie may not be able to fly, but she has plenty of resources at her disposal.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Wait, so you just wanted me to move all your stuff because…”

“Because Trixie was tired,” Trixie said with a proud smile.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”

“Now, now. No need to get all bent out of shape, Dashie,” Trixie said, circling Rainbow Dash and ensuring that her tail brushed against Rainbow’s side. “Trixie did offer to spend the day with you after that, didn’t she? And besides, if Trixie had worn herself out any further, she wouldn’t have the energy left tonight for you.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the cocky unicorn giving her a victorious grin. “Well in that case, you’d better pay up,” she said, reaching forward and wrapping a foreleg around Trixie’s neck, brining the mare in closer to kiss her on the lips.

“Oh, please,” a voice from behind scoffed, causing the two mares to pull away in surprise and turned to whoever was addressing them. It wasn’t a pony, but a griffon, who was approaching the two. “I can’t believe you’re the same Dash I used to room with. I knew these ponies were turnin’ you lame.”

“Gilda?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, jumping into the air and floating with her wings.

“A friend of yours?” Trixie asked, moving her head to get a better look at Rainbow’s shocked and confused face. “… Maybe not?”

“N-No… I mean, she’s uh… It’s…”

“We used to room together in flight school,” Gilda told Trixie. “We also hung out almost every day, and even went out for a bit once. Didn’t last long. We preferred just stickin’ as friends.”

“Ah, and old mare… er, griffonfriend… What’s the term Trixie should use here?”

“What are you doing here?” Rainbow asked Gilda, her eyes narrowed to a glare as she slowly landed onto the ground. “I thought you didn’t wanna see me until I was ‘ready to be cool again’.”

Gilda gritted her teeth as she and Rainbow Dash became locked in an eternal staring contest. “… You know what? Forget it. I don’t even know why I bothered.” Gilda turned around and spread her wings.

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash cried, but Gilda simply took off and flew away from the scene quickly, a strong gust of wind blowing behind her. “Gilda!”

Trixie watched the griffon fly away and then turned to Rainbow Dash. “… So I’m guessing that something happened between you two.” Rainbow Dash sighed and nodded her head. “You want to talk about it?”

Rainbow looked at Trixie and shook her head, smiling. “Nah. It’s not that big a deal.”

“You sure? The Great and Powerful Trixie is willing to lend an ear, so you might want to consider-” Trixie was interrupted as Rainbow Dash flicked her forehead suddenly, forcing her to take a step back in surprise. “OW! W-What are you-”

“Gotcha!” Rainbow Dash shouted, taking to the air and flying some feet away from Trixie. “C’mon, you’re it now! Catch me if you think ya can!”

Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry towards Trixie and the unicorn felt her veins rising to the surface as she took a step forward. “Oh, you just wait, Dash.” Rainbow quickly flew down the street as Trixie gave chase. “Get back here, you!”

As Rainbow Dash led Trixie towards the library with hearty laughter she made it a point to slow down occasionally, to give her less-athletic opponent a chance. As she moved, she couldn’t help but notice the large figure flying towards the Everfree Forest in the distance. ‘Gilda…’

“Watch out for that-” Rainbow Dash snapped to attention just in time to find Twilight’s tree about to meet her face. Using her quick reflexes Rainbow Dash dodged and circled around in the air, landing just in front of a heavily-panting Trixie, who quickly proceeded to lightly tap Rainbow Dash’s forehead. “… Got… you…”

Rainbow quickly backed up to catch her falling marefriend and couldn’t help but giggle at how worn out a simple run had made the so-called ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie. “Uh, maybe you should get some more exercise.”

Trixie harrumphed and climbed out of Rainbow’s hold, quickly sorting out her mane and her attire and walking casually towards the library. “Whatever. Trixie won in the end, did she not?”

“I guess so,” Rainbow said with a shrug as she followed Trixie into the library, before sparing one last glance in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

Rarity opened the door to her boutique and trotted inside, humming a tune as her helpful assistant Spike followed behind with a full sack over his shoulders. “Thank you so much for your help again, Spike. I really don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Don’t… mention… it…” Spike said between pants, wiping the sweat from his brow before simply dropping the sack on the floor against the nearest wall to him. As payment for his service Rarity offered him three large gems from the stash, which he accepted with a smile and a content sigh.

“I’m sorry for asking you to help me so late in the evening.”

“Ah, it’s nothing.” Spike brushed the gems with his tail, making them shine even brighter. “I mean, hey, it beats Twilight’s crazy delusions that somepony is purposely sliding the books forward on her shelves… Please don’t tell her I said that.”

“Well, thank you again, Spike dear.” After Rarity and Spike waved each other goodbye, Rarity closed the door to her boutique and approached the stairs leading upstairs. Applejack’s boots by the door told her that the other mare was already home. “Applejack, I’m hoooome!” Rarity sang as she opened the door to their bedroom and walked inside. “You wouldn’t believe the day that I’ve had. First Rainbow Dash of all ponies comes asking for my help looking more…”

Rarity trailed off as her eyes fell onto Applejack, sitting at the vanity inside the room with all of Rarity’s makeup and cosmetic products lined up in front of her, and an awful lot of it painted on her face, with her hair braided and shining from a clear overuse of shampoo.

“Uh, hi Rarity,” Applejack said, staring back at Rarity as the awkwardness levels in the room continued to rise. “… Am ah pretty?”

“…” Rarity slowly backed out of the room and closed the door with her magic.

Author's Note

... This was totally not worth the wait. The idea seemed funnier in my head. Though I also didn't expect it to take about 3k words just to introduce the premise of the chapter.

Ohey! Everypony's favourite griffon made an appearence! Wonder what'll happen next? Find out in the next chapter, coming in 2016!

20 - Old Friends

Rainbow Dash landed just outside of the entrance to the Everfree Forest. In the dark of the night, it was difficult to make out anything at all, and her ears detected nothing but the sounds of the crickets chirping all around her.

“What am I doing out here?” she asked with a sigh. “Of course she’s long gone by now…” Flapping her wings, Rainbow Dash turned around and flew back towards her cloud home. She entered through the window leading into her bedroom and found that Trixie was still resting peacefully in the bed, hugging the pillow Rainbow Dash had slipped in to act as a substitute whilst she was gone.

Carefully, Rainbow Dash removed the pillow and slipped back into the bed as slowly as she could, taking care not to wake up the mare next to her who was… staring with wide-open eyes and a sly smirk. “A little midnight fly to calm your mind?”

Rainbow Dash laughed nervously as she sat up straight. “Did I wake you up? Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Trixie is a master of deception,” Trixie said as she sat up and held the pillow she was hugging moments ago in her magic. “Did you honestly think that she would fall for amateur stuff such as this?”

“I just needed to clear my head a little and didn’t wanna wake you,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“About that griffon, right?” Trixie asked, using her magic to turn on a nearby lamp next to Rainbow’s side of the bed. “You’ve been acting off ever since that encounter.”

“It’s… personal…”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is willing to lend an ear,” Trixie said, turning her head away and scratching the back of her neck as her face turned a slight shade of red. “I mean, you’ve helped Trixie before in the past, twice. It’s the least Trixie can do…”

“It’s kinda a long story.” Rainbow Dash felt something pushing the back of her head and suddenly found herself lying faceup in Trixie’s lap.

“Then you’d better get started, because the Great and Powerful Trixie wants to hear it.”

With a sigh and a smile, Rainbow Dash took a moment to decide where she should begin. “Well, things were kinda rough back in flight school…”

Rainbow Dash stomped angrily down the halls of the Cloudsdale Flight Academy’s dormitory whilst grumbling beneath her breath. The halls were empty, because it was well past the time that students were allowed to be out. Rainbow Dash was the exception, because she had been called to the principal’s office on account of her fighting with the other students.

Ever since she had entered the academy, Rainbow Dash had had nothing but grief from the older students, and also from three colts in her classes. Her rainbow hair made her stand out, which it turned out was the worst thing you could do in a place like that. Not only that, but it seemed that making a declaration of becoming the future leader of the Wonderbolts had caused the older students to ‘challenge’ her to ‘make sure she was ready’. Rainbow Dash knew better, though. She knew that it was just bullying.

Today was no different. Hoops had hidden her lunch from her when she turned her back for just a few moments, and when he returned it it was half-eaten, so Rainbow Dash lashed out and kicked him in the face. She was pulled away by the teachers and put into isolation for the rest of the day, then called to the principal’s office and, of course, a letter was sent home to her parents.

She was finally let out after curfew had passed. It was clear that the teachers considered her a danger to the other students, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care for much at that point.

She opened the door to her dorm room and stepped inside, finding her roommate Gilda sitting on her bed. “‘Bout time they let you out,” Gilda said as Rainbow walked in.

“Well, duh,” Rainbow Dash said as she threw her bag to the floor and flopped onto her own bed. “Didn’t you see what I did to that guy?”

Gilda scoffed. “Hoops is a weakling,” she said. “And he totally deserved it. Why didn’t you just tell ‘em that?”

“‘Cause I’m no tattle-tale,” Rainbow said with a glare. “Even if I was, the older kids already have it out for me. What d’you think they’ll do if I tell on ‘em?”

“Well you gotta do something, Miss ‘Future Captain of the Wonderbolts’.” Rainbow Dash simply huffed and turned away, causing Gilda to lose her smile. Falling onto her back, she added, “Why not move to a different flight school. There are plenty to go to with way better reps than this.”

“If you think that, why don’t you move?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“‘Cause I’m a griffon. Ponies know better than to mess with us. ‘Sides, my folks at home wouldn’t shut up about it if I dropped out of a school they spent good money gettin’ me into.”

“You know that ponies talk about you behind your back, right?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“… I know.”

“They dis you ‘cause you eat meat and you got those weird claw things,” Rainbow added.

“Yeah, I know,” Gilda said through gritted teeth. “Look, it’s different for me, alright? Griffons that live in Equestria gotta have a good education on their record if they wanna work anywhere decent. But you don’t. You can go to any flight school and still have a shot at the Wonderbolts.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah… but I don’t wanna just be a Wonderbolt. I wanna be the best Wonderbolt. The teachers at this school are the best, some are even former Wonderbolts themselves! If I wanna be the best, this is the only school there is…”

Gilda leaned her head to the side to see Rainbow Dash looking down at her pillow with an angry, trembling face. “Well, good luck with that,” she said, getting the pegasus’ attention. “I usually think your kind are just dweebs, but you’re actually kinda cool.”

A ghost of a smile presented itself on Rainbow Dash’s face. “Thanks…”

“You’re still dumb, though,” Gilda said with a grin. “But I’ll be rootin’ for ya, so just hang in there. When you become the next leader of the Wonderbolts, you can rub it in all their faces.”

Rainbow’s smile grew bigger and she nodded. “Yeah! You got it!”

The following day Rainbow Dash spent in isolation yet again, and the day after she was released. She was told to go the gymnasium, presumably to make up for the physical examination she missed out on the previous day. When she arrived, she found that the large room was empty.

She waited for about five minutes before she heard hoofsteps approaching from behind. Turning around she found her least favourite bullies: Ditch and Pitch, and their ‘leader’, Knot. Knot was the principal’s son, which made him especially cocky and arrogant.

The three of them approached Rainbow Dash with wide, toothy grins. “Heard ya hurt Hoops somethin’ bad two days ago,” Knot said, stepping closer to Rainbow Dash whilst his two lackeys stopped. “Surprised they let you outta iso this early.”

“Guess I got lucky,” Rainbow Dash said, keeping her eyes on Knot and extending her wings to keep them at the ready. “What d’you want?”

“I just thought you might wanna see somethin’ interestin’ we found a few days ago,” Knot said, throwing some photographs at Rainbow’s hooves.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened as they fell upon the first photograph in the pile. It was her kissing another pony. Another filly.

“As if your hair wasn’t bad enough, but you’re also a fillyfooler!” Knot laughed, his two friends joining him as Rainbow’s face turned red from both embarrassment and rage.

“SHUT UP!” she demanded.

“Wouldn’t it just be totally embarrassing if these pics found their way into the school’s newspaper? Everyone in the academy would know in one afternoon.”

“Y-You wouldn’t…”

“Oh, I would,” Knot said, scooping up the photographs and turning around. “As the director of our school’s newspaper, it’s my job to report the truth. Of course, if you weren’t a fillyfooler, that’d be a different story, but the only way to prove that would be to…” Knot turned around with a devious grin. “Well, if you kissed a colt, I guess that would be enough.”

“T-That’s all? Y-Yeah, of course I can-”

“Ah-ah! Not just any colt will do.” Knot rubbed a hoof against his chin in thought. “If you really wanna prove me wrong, you’ll have to kiss him.”

Ditch and Pitch stepped aside to reveal Snowflake, a scrawny white pegasus colt with tiny wings, known by many students as the weakest in the academy, and rumoured by many fillies to be the very origin of ‘cooties’.

“H-Him?” Rainbow Dash asked, her wings and ears drooping as she stared at the uncomfortable-looking colt.

“That’s right. Just one quick kiss and I’ll consider you totally straight.” Knot waved the photographs in his hoof tauntingly. “What d’ya say? A good deal, isn’t it?”

Rainbow Dash gulped, staring at the colt, and then the photographs, and then the colt again. With a nod, she slowly made her way towards the colt.

“Heh. She’s totally gonna do it,” Ditch whispered to Pitch.

“This is gonna be rich!” Pitch whispered back.

“S-Sorry,” Snowflake said as his eyes fell to the floor.

“Just shut up and let’s get this over with,” Rainbow Dash said angrily as she closed her eyes and leaned forward. After what felt like an eternity or torment, she felt her own lips meet with the colt’s… followed by the sound of a camera snapping beside her. Rainbow’s eyes widened and she backed away, turning to find Knot pointing a camera towards the two.

“Awww, so sweet,” Knot said. “And what a lovely little story. ‘Future leader of the Wonderbolts, not only a fillyfooler, but also a two-timer’!”

“W-What?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “But you said-”

“Hey, I only report the facts!” Knot said, holding his hooves up innocently whilst his devilish grin stayed plastered onto his face. His two friends were in hysterics, and Snowflake was trembling as he backed away from the fuming Rainbow Dash.

“You… You…”

“Careful now,” Knot warned. “Hit Hoops, you get isolation. Hit me, and-”

“BUCK YOU!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she ran forward, but stopped as a brown blur rushed into the scene from the side and clocked Knot’s face with its fist. The blur stopped and revealed its true form. “G-Gilda!”

“Sorry, Dash!” Gilda said, panting heavily. “I saw these guys comin’ this way so I followed ‘em. I should’ve come out sooner…”

“W-Why’d you do that?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Do you know what’ll happen if the principal finds out? You’ll be expelled!”

“… Yeah, but at least you won’t be,” Gilda said.

“W-What?” Rainbow gasped. “B-But you said-”

“Look, I can still live with bein’ a flight school dropout. But you can’t be the best if you get yourself kicked out of here, right? And stop crying, you dweeb!”

Rainbow Dash jumped and reached a hoof towards her eyes. Indeed, tears were welling up and rolling down her cheeks. “You… idiot…”

“Knot, are you okay?!” Pitch asked as he shook his friend’s body that was lying on the floor.

Knot groaned and climbed to his hooves, rubbing his injured face as he glared towards the griffon. “You bitch… Just you wait until my dad finds out about-”

“Dude, he’s here!” Ditch told Knot.

Knot looked to his left to find his father and a couple of other teachers walking towards the group. “Dad!” Knot shouted in surprise as he ran towards his father. Rainbow Dash and Gilda both started to sweat nervously. “Dad, expel that griffon now! She punched my face!”

The principal nodded and Gilda’s head hung low. “I know. I saw.” The principal put his hooves on his son’s shoulders and glared down at the colt. “And if you were growing up in my time, you would be lucky to get away with just that!”

Gilda and Rainbow Dash looked up in shock. “W-What?” Knot asked. “What are you-”

“Do not think you can outsmart me, boy! I was once Captain of the Wonderbolts! Whenever there is disarray in my troops, I sniff out the source!” The principal turned to Rainbow Dash. “Yesterday, while Miss Dash was in isolation, I took the time to question students about the incident and what I heard was some shocking testimony. So shocking that I didn’t want to believe it, so I had planned to talk with her alone, but then I find out that somepony had lured her towards the gymnasium.”

“What? You mean he told me to come here?” Rainbow Dash asked.

The principal nodded. “Yes, and when I got here I found him bragging about how he would destroy your reputation after you had kissed that colt.”

“B-But Dad-”

The principal grabbed his son by the ear, causing the colt to cry out in pain and struggle against his father’s hold. “You two! Come with us!” he ordered Pitch and Ditch, who both nodded silently through their fear. “And Miss Gilda,” the principal added, turning to the griffon, “Though I appreciate that your actions were in defence of Miss Dash, you are aware of this school’s policy on physical confrontation.”

Gilda nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll pack my bags later.”

The principal raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” he asked. “Clearly you didn’t read our terms of conduct like you were asked to. Miss Gilda, as this is your first offence, you will be let off with three days detention and a written apology to my son.”

“Apologise?!” Gilda shouted. “To that-”

“Just take it!” Rainbow Dash said, lowering Gilda’s claw with her hoof. “Better than being expelled, right?”

Gilda huffed and hesitantly conceded. “Fine…” She leaned over and whispered to Rainbow Dash, “But I’m not writing it neat.”

Rainbow Dash rolled hey eyes. The principal turned to leave with his son and his son’s two lackeys. “Well then, I will let the three of you have the rest of the morning off. But I expect you to be back in your classrooms by this afternoon. And Miss Dash, the next time a student is causing you trouble, I would appreciate if you made my job easier and simply tell me.”

“But that’d just make them come at me even worse,” Rainbow Dash said.

“That is what anonymous counselling is for,” the principal retorted before leaving.

Snowflake followed after the teachers quickly, whilst Rainbow Dash and Gilda remained behind for a while in silence. When she felt that the teachers were far enough away, Rainbow Dash asked, “Why did you do that?”

“I already told you why,” Gilda said.

“That wasn’t a reason. You hardly know me. Why would you stick your neck on the line for me like that?”

“What d’ya mean, ‘hardly know you’?!” Gilda shouted. “We’ve been friends this whole year and we’ve hung out together lots of times!”

“But it’s still only been a few months,” Rainbow Dash said.

Gilda simply stared at the pegasus for a few seconds before responding. “Alright, fine. You wanna know what it is? … I don’t exactly have many friends.”

“I got that,” Rainbow said bluntly, causing Gilda to narrow her eyes.

“So I don’t exactly wanna lose the one friend I got, you dig?” Gilda scratched the back of her neck as she flexed her wings nervously. “And besides, you’re pretty cool, y’know that?”

“Well, yeah, but what does that-”

“I don’t mean your style or your street cred or anythin’. I mean… you’re the first pony I’ve met that doesn’t see me as a monster, or a freak, or even a griffon. You just… see me and that’s pretty cool of you…”

Rainbow Dash blushed. “Oh… Well, I just thought you were an awesome flyer, that’s all…”

Gilda cleared her throat. “I can’t believe I’m sayin’ all this.”

Rainbow Dash giggled nervously. “You have a sweet side?”

“I’m just answerin’ your question!” Gilda shouted. “Fine then! Next time you ask me somethin’ I just won’t talk!”

“You know,” Rainbow began, “You’re the first student I’ve met that doesn’t avoid me or give me a hard time. Because of my reputation, the others just either want nothing to do with me or see it as a chance to get in with the older students. You just kept being my friend, though.”

“Like I said, it’s because you’re cool,” Gilda said. “Which isn’t easy for a pony,” she added with a grin.

Rainbow Dash extended a hoof, confusing the griffon. “This’s called a hoofbump,” she explained. “Two ponies bump their hooves together to show respect.”

“I haven’t got hooves,” Gilda pointed out.

“That’s fine. You can use that… what is called? A ‘thrift’?”

“‘Fist’,” Gilda corrected.

“Right. You use that to bump my hooves.”

“… Why?”

“Because it shows we’re friends! And the more we do it, the longer we’ll still be friends!”

Gilda blinked before her contorted into a gag. “Forget what I said. You’re a dweeb, just like the rest.”

Rainbow Dash felt a vein growing in her head and grabbed Gilda’s fisted claw with her free hoof, bumping it with her outstretched one. “There! Friends for life!”

“So lame,” Gilda muttered as she shook the ‘lameness’ off of her claw. “How ‘bout ‘you watch my back, I’ll watch yours’. That sounds way cooler, don’t ya think?”

“That makes it sound like we can’t defend ourselves,” Rainbow Dash said. “How about ‘sisters in hooves’?”

“No. Hooves.” Gilda sighed. “The bump thing’s fine. Just don’t explain it to others and we can still make it look cool when we do it.”

“You got it!”

“Oh my. It sounds to me that the two of you should have been friends forever.”

Gilda huffed and fell onto her back, resting her head on her two claws whilst Fluttershy resumed bandaging the griffon’s wounded wing. “Yeah, but things don’t always go the way they ‘should’ve’.” Gilda’s eyes shifted quickly to Fluttershy. “By the way, you tell anypony I’m here an’ I’ll make those guys at flight school seem like wimps.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “I always respect the confidentiality of my patients.”

Gilda raised an eyebrow. “You a doctor or something? I figured you were just a medic, or a nurse at best.”

Fluttershy giggled and blushed as she pressed down gently on the wing, causing Gilda to wince. “No, nothing like that. I’m actually an animal caretaker.”

Gilda froze and stared at the humming pegasus in shock. She then glared and a talon shot forwards before grasping Fluttershy’s neck. “You’re a vet?! You mean you’re treatin’ me without the right freakin’ skills or a know-how?! And a freaking vet?! Do I look like a mutt to you?!”

Fluttershy paled as she gently pushed against the claw grabbing her. “I-I didn’t mean to upset you or anything, it’s just that you looked hurt and I thought I could-”

“BAH!” Gilda pushed Fluttershy back and flopped down onto the bed, turning her back to the gasping pegasus. “Whatever! It’s probably better this way, anyhow.”

Fluttershy took a moment to regain her composure. Slowly, she stepped forward, intent on finishing her work on Gilda’s wing.

“It’s fine,” Gilda said. She heard Fluttershy yelp behind her.

“B-But-”

“I said it’s fine!” Gilda shouted. “Why don’t ya go check on your other ‘patients’ and let me get some shuteye?!”

Fluttershy wanted to refuse, but she could see that her patient was agitated and, quite frankly, dangerous. With a nod, Fluttershy turned to leave the room.

Gilda waited until the final hoofstep confirmed to her that Fluttershy was downstairs and then groaned as she rolled onto her front and stretched out her injured wing. “Damn that smarts,” she whispered. She could see a small golden object in the corner of her eye and tilted her head to see what it was. It was a bell. Gilda reached forward and picked it up. “Little dweeb. Like I’m gonna use this to-” Gilda winced as a bolt of pain passed through her body and she immediately relaxed her wing, though that didn’t seem to do much good either.

With a disgruntled groan, Gilda placed the bell down and turned to her bandaged wing, flexed her claws, and then shredded the bandaging with a few swift motions. She then picked up the bell and rang it. Moments later, she could hear Fluttershy approaching from behind.

“Y-Yes?” the timid mare asked.

“You did a crap job bandaging my wing,” Gilda said, pointing to the injured wing with torn bandages hanging from the feathers.

“Oh my. I-I’m so sorry, I thought I-”

“Just fix it already,” Gilda said, resting her chin on her talons and closing her eyes. “Well?”

Fluttershy approached the griffon and picked up some fresh bandages from the first aid box resting by the bed. She could see the telltale claw marks on the shredded bandaging and smiled, unrolling the new bandages and getting to work on the injured wing.

“You know why Dash an’ I broke up?” Gilda asked, startling Fluttershy.

“You mean the party when you came to Ponyville? I… remember it, yes.”

Gilda hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Well, we were on thin ice long before that.” She felt Fluttershy stop and cleared her throat. The pegasus yelped and resumed immediately. “… Dash and I were a thing at one point. Near the end of flight school. We decided it was best ta just stay friends in the end… Or rather, that’s what Dash decided.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that,” Fluttershy said, her ears drooping to the sides of her head.

“Trouble is, Dash knew I still wanted us to go steady. She kept her distance from me, even moved all the way ta Ponyville and made excuses for why she couldn’t visit me for a long time.”

“I’m sure that isn’t the reason,” Fluttershy said.

“Can you think of a reason she would leave Cloudsdale for an earth pony town like this?”

“The rent here is much cheaper than in Cloudsdale… is what she told me.”

Gilda remained silent for a moment before simply huffing. “Whatever. Point is, she knew, and she hated me for it. The fight was just the final straw. After the fight, I decided to just get over Dash. Long hours on the job and longer hours at the nightclub, maybe find someone else and in time, I wouldn’t feel anything for the little traitor.”

Fluttershy fidgeted her hooves nervously. “I don’t… I don’t think that Rainbow Dash ‘betrayed’ you…”

“What d’you call it, then?”

“I think she was just upset… I don’t think that she intended to hurt you then… m-maybe…”

Gilda coiled her claw into a fist and slammed it down onto the mattress beneath her. “Yeah? Well it doesn’t matter. The stupid pony wouldn’t stop bothering me anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I couldn’t forget about her!” Gilda sighed and shook her head. “I couldn’t just… replace her with somebody else, and I couldn’t concentrate on my job when I kept thinking back on the day we had that fight. I dunno, I guess I just felt like I was runnin’ away or something… I came back here without much of a plan and what do I find? Dash’s already with another pony.”

“Trixie.”

Gilda nodded. “I tried to leave again, but I couldn’t make up my mind. Stay and try to talk to her, or run away and try to forget again? It was so frustrating I just lashed out at her all of a sudden and then tried to cool off in the Everfree Forest. After that… Well, I think you can guess.”

Fluttershy nodded, looking down at the injured wing and thinking back to how she had found Gilda limping weakly out of the forest earlier that night. “Um, maybe it isn’t my place to say, but I don’t think that Rainbow Dash ever hated you. The two of you have been friends ever since flight school, and I know that Rainbow Dash isn’t the type of pony to throw away a friend so easily.”

“… Maybe you’re right,” Gilda muttered. She remained silent for the next several minutes until Fluttershy was finally finished.

“I’ll let you rest up here,” Fluttershy said. “If there’s anything you need, just call.”

Gilda moved her wing ever-so-slightly. “I can hardly feel anything,” she said in an amazed tone.

“I did the best that I could, but I’m afraid I’m not familiar with griffon wings… I’ve treated eagles before though, so I tried to use the same techniques here.”

Gilda turned to Fluttershy, whose eyes shifted about nervously as the griffon simply stared at her. Fluttershy then took a step back as the griffon extended her fisted claw. “Hey… you’re alright,” Gilda said with a grin.

Fluttershy smiled and timidly lifted her hoof, bumping it with Gilda’s fist.

“But remember, you tell anypony that I’m here or about what I said tonight-”

“I won’t say a word,” Fluttershy assured her patient before picking up her first aid box and leaving down the stairs.

Gilda rolled onto her back and stared up at the wooden ceiling above her, thinking back to her encounter with Rainbow Dash earlier that day. “Damnit I’m stupid.”

Dawn broke in Ponyville and the morning sunlight seeped through the open windows of Rainbow Dash’s home. Rainbow Dash groaned as she rolled onto her front, burying her face into her pillow in order to avoid the intrusive light and continue her peaceful slumber.

Trixie would ordinarily take the chance to curl up close to Rainbow Dash, but today she had a different goal. After listening to Rainbow’s story last night there was a nagging feeling in the back of the showmare’s mind. Rainbow Dash told Trixie that she was okay, that there was no need to worry.

But Trixie knew that Rainbow was just putting on a strong face. She knew this because it was the same face that Trixie had endured in the mirror many times in her past, and it was a face that could only belong to one who was hurting more on the inside than the outside.

“You just keep sleeping a little longer,” Trixie said before giving her marefriend a quick peck on the cheek. “You helped Trixie out before. It’s time to repay that debt.”

Trixie left the house and approached a small cloud resting outside, disconnected from the rest of the house. She then climbed onto the cloud and used her magic to gently move it down towards the ground and gulped. “Should’ve got a bigger cloud,” Trixie muttered as she crouched down low. “Let’s see… If there’s anypony in Ponyville who’ll know where Gilda is, it would be…”

Fluttershy settled down into her couch with her favourite book and a hot cup of tea with just a little milk and all of her animal friends had gathered around to listen to her reading. Fluttershy loved peaceful reading time with her friends, and tonight was no except-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Or perhaps tonight was going to be an exception. Wondering who could possibly be at her door at such a late time, Fluttershy put her book down and excused herself from her animal friends. “I’ll be just a minute,” she said, ignoring Angel’s protest of stomping on the couch as she made her way towards her front door. As the door opened Fluttershy was surprised to see Trixie on the other side.

“Greetings! No doubt you must be thrilled to receive an early-morning audience with none other than the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie declared as she stepped inside before Fluttershy could even invite her in.

“Oh, of course. Come on in,” Fluttershy said with a smile, before turning to her grandfather clock with a confused look on her face. “But, it is early. I haven’t even had my breakfast yet.”

“Yes, well, Trixie wanted to surprise Dash so I had to leave while she was still asleep,” Trixie explained. “Trixie felt that you would be the best pony to ask for aid in this endeavour.”

“You want my help with something?” Fluttershy asked. Trixie nodded. “Well of course I’d be happy to help however I can, but why would I be the best pony to go to? Surely there are others who can offer you better help than me.”

“You’re the best lead Trixie has because you went to the same flight school as Rainbow Dash,” Trixie said. Fluttershy tilted her head and Trixie continued. “You see, an old friend of Dash’s showed up yesterday.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Gilda.”

“Right, and- Wait. How did you know that?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and sweat started to drip down her head. “Um… lucky guess?” she squeaked with an innocent smile that grew wider as Trixie eyed the pegasus suspiciously.

“Hm. Fair enough.” Fluttershy breathed a relieved sigh whilst Trixie continued her story. “Anyway, it was clear to Trixie, keen-eyed as she is, that this was troubling Rainbow Dash.”

Fluttershy’s ears drooped down as she turned her gaze to the stairs. “O-Oh… she was?”

“Yes, and then reason is clear: Rainbow Dash misses Gilda.”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up quickly and she turned her gaze back to Trixie. “She does?”

“Unfortunately, she doesn’t know what she wants to do. She wants to talk with Gilda, but it seems she’s afraid of how such a meeting might go.”

“But they should talk!” Fluttershy interjected quickly. “I mean, the two were once such great friends… I’d hate to see them lose that over one little fight. Also, who knows? Maybe Gilda wants to make up just as much as Rainbow Dash does.”

Trixie shrugged. “Well, Trixie doesn’t know enough about this Gilda to make a judgement call on that, but Trixie does know Rainbow Dash enough to see when she’s in pain. And it… it’s about time that Trixie finally repays the kindness that Dash showed her many months ago.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, Trixie. You don’t have to worry about that. Rainbow Dash is always happy to help ponies, whether or not they pay her back.”

“Regardless, this is something that Trixie wants to help Dash through,” Trixie said with finality. “So Trixie was wondering if you knew where she could find Gilda. Since you went to the same flight school as Dash, Trixie thought that maybe you might know.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t that close to Rainbow Dash yet. And… Gilda scared me back then, so I didn’t really learn much about her… A lot of ponies and griffons scared me back then…”

“But you must have an idea, right? Maybe there’s a particular place that griffons like to stay in Equestria?”

Fluttershy looked over to the stairs and shook her head again. “I’m sorry…” ‘I told Gilda that I wouldn’t tell anypony that she’s here…’

Trixie sighed. “Oh well. It was a leap of faith to begin with.”

“But, if I do happen to run into Gilda, I’ll be sure to tell her that Rainbow Dash wants to talk to her,” Fluttershy said, smiling as she continued to stare at the bottom of the stairs.

Trixie nodded her head. “That would be much appreciated.” Trixie walked past Fluttershy and opened the cottage’s front door. “By the way, don’t forget that Trixie is performing a show to celebrate you all saving Equestria again.”

“I’ll be sure not to miss it.” Fluttershy waved goodbye as Trixie left the house, closing the door behind her with a sigh. “… I’ll let her get some rest and tell her later. Her wing still needs to heal.”

As Trixie walked down the pathway leading from the cottage she pondered in her head what she could do next. She could run all over Ponyville asking its citizens if they know anything, but that would take a long time. Perhaps just the weather team? Maybe if she knew where they were.

Trixie reached her cloud and began to climb on, but stopped as something to the left of her caught the showmare’s eyes. An entrance into the Everfree Forest, but the trees were scratched and leaves and twigs were scattered all over the floor.

Trixie moved closer to investigate when she saw brown feathers mixed in among the leaves. “Brown feathers and claw marks… Could it be?” Taking a step forward, Trixie entered the dimly-lit forest, her horn alight to help her see where she was going.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

‘Oh come on!’ Fluttershy thought as she glared at her door, getting up as Angel Bunny threw his paws into the air and fell onto his back on the couch. As Fluttershy opened her front door, she found Rainbow Dash on the other side. “Oh, Rainbow Dash. What’s-”

“Hey, Fluttershy. Sorry if I’m botherin’ you, I was just wondering if Trixie came by here.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “Well, she did, but how did you-”

“Thought so. I found the cloud she used yesterday just down the path leadin’ to your place.” Rainbow Dash poked her head inside the house and looked around. “She’s not still here, is she?”

“No. She left a few hours ago.”

Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head. “That’s weird. Nopony in Ponyville has seen her this morning. And her cloud is still tied to the ground just past the river.” A thumping sound was heard upstairs, following by the sound of a window opening. “What was that?” Rainbow asked Fluttershy.

“Um… a bear?” Fluttershy replied with an innocent grin.

Gilda touched the cloud with her claw and narrowed her eyes as she looked it over slowly. She then turned her head towards the entrance to the Everfree Forest. The same entrance that she herself had used the previous evening, with her feathers on the floor.

“She said she was lookin’ for me.” Gilda turned back to the cloud and found a strand of silver hair on it. She picked it up with a single talon and sniffed it, and then turned back to the forest once more. “She did. She went lookin’ for me in the forest.”

“Gilda!” Gilda turned to find Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy running towards her, the latter panting as they came to a stop before the griffon.

“You told her,” Gilda accused the yellow pegasus, who squeaked and hid behind Rainbow Dash.

“S-She forced it out of me.” Fluttershy explained.

“A bear?” Rainbow Dash asked in a sceptical tone, tilting her head and casting a suspicious look over Fluttershy.

“Okay! It wasn’t a bear! It was Gilda!” Fluttershy cried as she crouched down and covered her head with her forehooves, her hind legs shaking and Angel Bunny facepalming on the couch behind her.

“Gilda, listen, I wanted to talk to you,” Rainbow Dash said, taking a step forward, but stopping when she noticed the silver hair that Gilda was holding. “Is that-”

“It’s your precious marefriend’s,” Gilda spat. She looked towards the forest and the two pegasi followed her gaze. “She went lookin’ for me in there. The idiot.”

“No way!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she took off towards the forest.

“Wait!”

“I can’t!” Rainbow stopped and turned towards Gilda. “Don’t you get it? Trixie’s been in there for hours and she still hasn’t come back yet! Something must’ve happened!”

“Yeah, and just how’re ya gonna fine her?” Gilda approached Rainbow Dash, stashing the hair inside of her feathers as she moved. “You ponies are useless when it comes ta tracking. You should leave it to us professionals.”

“Gilda…” Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded. “Let’s go! … Uh, Fluttershy, maybe you should stay behind and-”

“N-No,” Fluttershy said, her legs shaking as she stood tall and kept a firm look on her face. “T-Trixie’s a friend, and if she’s in trouble in there, she’ll need help getting out.”

“But-”

“I said no, and I mean no,” Fluttershy said. “I’m going, too.”

Rainbow Dash simply stared at Fluttershy in amazement, and then grinned. “Alright, have it your way.”

“We’d better hurry,” Gilda said. “I wanna get this over with already so I can ditch you losers.”

With a nod, the two pegasi followed Gilda into the Everfree Forest to find their friend.

“This would be a bad time to fall asleep,” Trixie told herself as she rocked slowly on top of a tree branch, her eyes flickering as she gazed down at the pack of snoozing timberwolves beneath her. Looking around slowly, Trixie could find no way down that wouldn’t result in broken legs, or waking up the timberwolves. “Darn it. They’re finally asleep, but Trixie is too-” Trixie broke to yawn. “-To tired to cast any powerful magic…”

In hindsight, Trixie was well aware of the timberwolves’ unnatural ability to regenerate and perhaps shouldn’t have continued to fight them, but rather focussed more on running away. “What’s done is done. Now Trixie just has to figure out a way to get out of here…”

A bird squawking in the air caused Trixie to jump, but she soon recovered and silently cursed the loud creature for startling like that and quickly checked to see if the noise had stirred the timberwolves from their slumber. To her distress, it had… but then to her delight, the pack of wolves turned tail and fled deeper into the forest, their howls growing quieter as Trixie stared off into the distance with a confused look.

Another squawk caused Trixie to look upwards, where she found a large bird hovering in the air, its wingspan easily more than the size of the branch that she was on and its claws looking sharp enough to rip her to shreds with next-to-no effort. Its feathers were a jet black with some pure white mixed in there, and it did not seem happy to meet the mare in the tree. “A roc,” Trixie whispered, before gasping at the sounds of more squawks behind her and turning around.

Five… ten… fifteen rocs, and still more beyond the trees. Trixie saw some nests higher up in the trees and her face paled as she realised where she was: right in the middle of a roc nesting ground.

Trixie turned back to the roc before her and saw its black feathers turning white. She had read that a roc’s dark feathers turn white when it becomes aggressive, meaning that she was now in even more trouble than when she was dealing with the timberwolves. The roc squawked one more time and then dove towards Trixie. Trixie didn’t have much room, so the only way that she could dodge was by falling backwards and quickly grabbing onto the branch with both hooves.

Now dangling precariously twenty feet above the ground, Trixie watched as the roc backed up and prepared for a second strike. As the large, winged creature moved in, Trixie removed one of her hooves and searched her cape, pulling out a small black ball and throwing it into the roc’s face. A cloud of smoke startled the bird and forced it to back away, though the close proximity also caused Trixie to start choking, too. Through her teary eyes, Trixie managed to replace her hoof back onto the branch and slowly began to shimmy to the right, making her way to the edge of the branch where she could climb onto the adjacent tree.

As she grabbed a hold of the branch with her right hoof, it suddenly snapped and fell to the ground, leaving her stuck with just one hoof hanging onto the edge of what little tree branch remained. The smoke was gone and the roc was ready for round three. In her current position, she couldn’t reach into her cape to pull out another smoke bomb, and casting a spell was risky… but her only chance, so closing her eyes, Trixie channelled energy into her horn and…

“HEADS UP!” A griffon suddenly dove in from above and scratched the roc’s back with its sharp talons.

Trixie felt herself being grabbed from behind and before she could make sense of what was happening there was rainbow-coloured hair in her face. “Y’know, when I said we should hang out more, that wasn’t quite what I meant.”

“What? Rainbow…” Trixie shook off her surprise. “You never said that.”

“Huh? Uh… yeah I did.”

“No you didn’t. You just wanted to make a lame joke, didn’t you?”

“Ugh, whatever… Are you okay?”

“Well despite the fact that we’re surrounded by more rocs than I can even see, the Great and Powerful Trixie is just fine…”

Rainbow Dash looked around to find that, just as Trixie had said, the group had become surrounded by rocs. Fluttershy shied slowly behind her friend whilst Gilda flexed her talons, sweating as she kept her eyes on the closest rocs.

“Ah!” Gilda started to fall for a second, before flapping her right wing harder to keep herself in the air.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh dear. Your wing is still hurt. I knew it.”

“Since when did Equestria have creatures like this in it?”

“Fluttershy, can’t you like, stare them down or something?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I-It doesn’t work that way,” Fluttershy explained. “They’re protecting their nesting ground. The stare only works if the target is misbehaving or isn’t trying to protect anything.”

“Protect? We’re outnumbered! How could they think we’re a threat?!”

“It doesn’t matter how few of us there are,” Gilda said. “All that matters when an intruder enters your nesting ground is protecting your home and your young.”

“So what do we do if we can’t fight ‘em?!”

Gilda groaned as she lowered a little further down. “Are you ponies really so stupid? In a situation like this, we do what your kind does best.”

Rainbow Dash turned to Gilda with a raised eyebrow. “Which is?”

“RUN!” Gilda shouted as she grabbed Fluttershy and turned around to dart through the forest.

“… Oh. Right.” Rainbow Dash kicked forward, carrying Trixie through the trees after Gilda and Fluttershy.

Trixie reached into her cloak and threw a second smoke bomb at the pursuing birds, before putting her forehooves around Rainbow’s neck for safety.

After much running through the Everfree Forest, taking many detours to lose the pursuing rocs and entering areas of dense forest where they could not be followed, the group somehow managed to elude the dangerous predators and find their way out of the forest. According to the time on the clock tower on the distance, it was just a little past noon.

“Finally outta there,” Rainbow Dash said as she took a heavy breath. She looked over her shoulder with a glare to the showmare sleeping on her back. “All because you did something so stupid and reckless. You’re lucky you’re passed out right now…”

“Um, she only did it because she wanted to help,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t change anything,” Rainbow said. “She’s gonna be in for it as soon as she wakes up.”

Gilda stared at Rainbow Dash for several seconds, her beak shut tight as words spiralled through her mind, eager to be heard by the pegasus. She just couldn’t decide what, if anything, she wanted to say. “Nngh!” Gilda grabbed her shoulder and kneeled to the floor as a powerful jolt passed through her body.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked. “Maybe you should lean on me for support.”

“I’m fine,” Gilda said as she stood up, wincing at the pain that it caused. She felt a hoof on her foreleg and turned to Fluttershy.

“I really think it would be best if you let me help you,” Fluttershy said, her tone a disturbing mixture of calming yet angry. “Now.”

Gilda felt sweat run down her body as she stared at the not-so-meek pegasus with a black aura surrounding her body. “S-Sure thing…” she said as she wrapped her foreleg around the pony, using her as a crutch.

Now it was Rainbow Dash who was staring at Gilda. Their eyes met and silence fell around them. “Hey,” they both started in unison. The silence returned and lasted even longer this time.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, froze for a solid two seconds, and then closed it again. Gilda scratched the back of her head, her eyes wandering as she tried to not look at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow felt something on her back trembling and raised an eyebrow.

“UGH!” Trixie jumped off of Rainbow’s back and pointed a hoof at her marefriend. “Will you just say something already?! This is what you wanted, right? A chance to talk to her again?”

“Y-Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said in a surprised tone. “But I mean, it kinda happened really fast, so-”

“I don’t care! The Great and Powerful Trixie went out of her way to arrange this meeting between the two of you, so you had better not waste it!”

“Man, she’s loud,” Gilda said, gaining Trixie’s attention. “And pretty dumb, too. What d’you see in her, anyway?”

“How dare you-”

“Eh, she’s not so bad when you get to know her,” Rainbow said with a sly grin. “‘Sides, she’s got a cute side, too.”

“Since when were you into anything cute?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Guess I’ve just changed a bit from my flight school days.”

Gilda scoffed. “I’ll say. The Dash I knew back then was like a totally different pony.”

Rainbow frowned. “But I’m still me, y’know?” Rainbow Dash sighed and scuffed a forehoof against the ground. “… Look, G, I’m sorry about what happened before.”

Gilda shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I guess it was sorta my fault too, a bit.”

“You know, I really miss hanging out with you. Not many ponies around here can fly very fast.”

Gilda chuckled. “I know what ya mean. For a pony, you sure can give a griffon a run for their money.”

Rainbow Dash extended her hoof. “So… friends again?”

Gilda starred at the hoof for a few moments, before grinning and nodding her head. “Sure,” she said as she bumped the hoof with her fist. “Just keep that pink one away from me and we’ll be good,” she added.

Rainbow Dash giggled and nodded her head. “I’ll tell Pinkie to give you a little space. At least until you get used to her. So, wanna catch up later?”

“Sounds cool to me.”

Rainbow nodded and then turned to Trixie, who almost jumped out of her fur the second those hard eyes fell upon her. “Right, let’s go,” Rainbow said, grabbing Trixie’s ear and dragging her away, ignoring the showmare’s protests as they moved.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Gilda began to head off in the opposite direction, back towards Fluttershy’s cottage. “I’m so glad that the two of you were able to make up in the end,” Fluttershy said. “I always hate to see a rift between friends.”

“Well, there’s just somethin’ about that pony that makes it hard to hold a grudge against her,” Gilda said. “You were right. There’s no way she’d abandon a friend ‘cause of one little fight. It’s kinda difficult to hate a pony like that.”

“… And her relationship with Trixie?”

Gilda’s eyes narrowed for a moment before she simply gave a dismissive shrug. “Hey, if she wants to tie herself down to a dweeb like that, that’s her call.” Gilda looked down towards the ground as she continued to move with Fluttershy’s help. “Well, I guess it was kinda cool the way Trixie tried to help us like that…” she muttered. “There are worse ponies Dash could’ve fallen for, that’s for sure.”

Fluttershy frowned. She didn’t have to be the Spirit of Kindness to sense the sadness in Gilda’s heart. Forcing her best smile, Fluttershy said, “Hey, when I get back, I’m going to read a story to all of my animal friends. If you’d like, you’re welcome to sit with us.”

The griffon eyed the pegasus for a second, seeing nothing but a genuine, kind smile that was almost brighter than the sun being pointed her way. “A story? … Sure, why not? Got nothin’ better to do, I guess…”

“OWOWOWOWWWW! Dashie, how many times must Trixie apologise before you let this go?!”

“Let it go?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she stopped to look at Trixie. “You could’ve been killed in there! You know how dangerous that place is!”

“It was daytime! There was only a slim chance that Trixie would’ve been attacked!”

“Monsters in the Everfree Forest still lurk about in the early morning, and you know that!” Rainbow Dash scooped up Trixie and took off into the air. “Not to mention you faked being asleep just to get a lift outta there!”

Trixie pouted as the two arrived at Rainbow’s cloud house. “Trixie was tired and didn’t have the energy to run. Besides, she knew you were going to be angry at her for going off all alone.”

“Well you got that right.”

“But Trixie only did it because you were feeling blue!” Trixie protested. “No pun intended.”

Rainbow Dash looked down at Trixie, pouting in her forelegs, and sighed. “… Okay, look, I get that you wanted to help me, and that’s cool and all, but I don’t want you to help if it puts you in danger like that. Just promise me, the next time you’re gonna do something reckless like that… don’t do it on your own. At least let me come with you, okay?”

“… Okay,” Trixie said with a nod. Rainbow Dash lowered the showmare onto the cloud floor and the two nuzzled together for a moment. “Trixie apologises for worrying you like that. Rest assured that the next time Trixie puts her life at risk, you will be there by her side.”

“… Not… quite what I was goin’ for, but it’ll have to do,” Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head with a chuckle. “Anyway, thanks for trying to help.”

Trixie blushed and nodded her head. “It was nothing…” Trixie yawned suddenly, reminding the showmare of just how tired she was. “If you don’t mind, the Great and Powerful Trixie thinks she’ll hit the hay for a bit…” Trixie said as she rubbed her eye.

“Sure thing. I was gonna go meet Pinkie Pie today, so I guess I’ll see you when I get back.” The two shared a farewell kiss before Rainbow Dash left her house and flew quickly towards Ponyville. ‘Man, how lucky am I to have an awesome marefriend like that?’

21 - On Vacation

“Horseshoe Bay is simply lovely this time of year.”

Twilight nodded in agreement with Rarity as she and her friends took in the sights of Equestria’s number one vacationing hotspot, Horseshoe Bay. Warm sun, warm beaches, clear skies, luxury resorts and fun parks for the little ones. Horseshoe Bay had it all and more.

“I’m just so glad we can go somewhere without it becoming a big adventure or a national crisis,” Twilight said, her friends agreeing with her.

Suddenly, an explosion behind them took the group by surprise and they turned around to find a shadowy figure standing on a tall pedestal, laughing maniacally as smoke rose from the ground and ponies fled the scene screaming in terror. “Soon! Equestria shall be MINE! MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAH!”

Twilight jolted upright and gasped. She then realised that she was sitting on her towel at the beach and with Pinkie Pie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders building a sandcastle beside her. “Oh.” Twilight let out a breath and wiped the sweat from her brow. “It was just a dream, huh? Well that’s good.” ‘And a little cliché, but I’m not complaining.’

“Oh, Twilight! You’re awake!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “That’s good! We need you to help us build our sandcastle!”

Twilight examined the current castle-in-progress. “It looks fine to me,” she said.

“Yeah, but we want it ta be accurate,” Apple Bloom explained.

“And we figured you’d, y’know, know exactly what a castle looks like, being a bookworm and all,” Scootaloo added, bringing a frown to Twilight’s face.

“Just because I read a lot, doesn’t mean I remember everything I see in a book perfectly. Nor does it mean I read books on every topic out there.”

“So you’re saying you don’t know anything about castles?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“… Well, I do know a bit about castles. How they’re built. The kinds of rooms they have. The defences that are in place and the secret chambers.” Twilight cleared her throat. “But that still doesn’t mean you can just assume things! By the way, where are the others?” Looking around, Twilight couldn’t help but notice that none of their other friends seemed to be present.

“Rarity hurt her hoof playing beach volleyball with Trixie, Dash and Applejack.”

Twilight looked concerned, but also confused. “Playing beach volleyball?”

“She was playin’ with three of the most competitive ponies in Equestria,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“Fair point. And Fluttershy?”

Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin. “Now that you mention it, where is Fluttershy?” With a shrug, Pinkie returned to building her sandcastle. “Eh, she’s a grown filly. I’m sure she can handle herself, or at least give a Fluttershyery scream if something’s wrong.”

“A ‘Fluttershyery scream’?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“It’s like this reeeeeeally high-pitched scream that ponies can’t normally hear! That’s why when she gets scared her mouth opens but no noise comes out!”

“Pinkie Pie, that’s not how ponies work,” Twilight said. “And even if it was, how would you be able to hear a ‘Fluttershyery scream’ if it’s a pitch you can’t register?”

“Oh, I can hear it just fine!” Pinkie said with a smile. “My ears are special!”

“Everything about you is ‘special’,” Twilight muttered with a roll of her eyes.

“Awww, thank you! Now, let’s dig out this moat!” Pinkie Pie stuck her nose into the sand and began to circle the castle, creating a deep trench that surrounded their creation.

Meanwhile, Twilight levitated her bottle of sunscreen and applied some to her legs and chest. “Hey, Pinkie, could you get my back for me?” she asked, only to find that Pinkie was checking her blueprints and construction a miniature scaffold at the castle’s main gate.

“Ooh, we can get that!” Scootaloo said excitedly.

“Yeah, we’ll be happy to help!” Sweetie Belle added.

Twilight smiled and lay down onto her front. “Okay, but just make sure you don’t add too little or too much. I don’t want any part of my back being more or less tanned than the rest.”

“Leave it to us!” Apple Bloom said as she grabbed the bottle of lotion with such force that the lotion squirted out of the top.

“Man, even the food here’s great!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she took another greedy bite out of her ice-cream, leaving a small white spot on the corner of her mouth.

“You don’t say. Perhaps you shouldn’t try to advertise everything you eat, though,” Trixie retorted as she leaned forward and licked the ice-cream from Rainbow’s face, too fast for the other mare to pull back. “Mm. It is good.”

“If’n you two are quite finished, can we get goin’ already?” Applejack asked with a frown as she sat at the table beside Rainbow Dash and Trixie with Rarity, gently massaging her partner’s bandaged hoof.

“What’s the hurry? We’re on vacay, after all.”

“Ah hate fancy places like this,” Applejack said, her eyes shifting about at the room with all of the formally-dressed ponies walking around and chatting whilst eating tiny portions of food from smartly-dressed waiters. “It reminds me too much of when ah was stayin’ with mah aunt and uncle in Manehatten. An’ those are days ah don’t care to remember.” Applejack shuddered as the thought crossed her mind.

“You didn’t mind all those fancy parties in Canterlot,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“Those are different kinds of fancy. Canterlot fancy ah can stand, but this is like Manehatten fancy an’ it just don’t sit right with me.”

“Dear Applejack here is just shy,” Rarity explained, reaching across the table with her good hoof and pinching Applejack’s cheek. “I think it’s cute,” she added with a grin.

“Ah ain’t shy!” Applejack protested as she pulled her face away. “It’s like how Trixie’s okay with small bolts of lightnin’, but huge ones terrify her!”

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa!” Trixie reached over to Applejack and slammed her hooves over the farmer’s mouth, looking around quickly to make sure that nopony had heard. “Do you intend to broadcast Trixie’s weaknesses to the entire world?!” she whispered.

“It’s not exactly much of a secret anymore, darling,” Rarity said. “Not since Rainbow Dash surprised all of Ponyville by forgetting to inform us of that thunderstorm.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “I didn’t forget. I just left it ‘til the last minute. Anyway, I don’t regret it.” Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around Trixie and pulled the showmare backwards towards herself. “You should’ve seen Trixie all curled up like that! It was so awesome!”

Trixie’s face brightened as she slipped out of Rainbow’s hold. “Trixie was not curled up like some helpless kitten!”

“Actually, you were. I got it all on tape.”

Trixie’s ear’s flattened. “Y-You did?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “W-Why would you-”

“Oh, this I must see!” Rarity said, her eyes beaming.

“Usually, ah respect a pony’s privacy.” A grin crossed Applejack’s face. “But after what she pulled last week, ah’m all for seein’ that tape.”

“What she did last week?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Applejack, Applejack, come quick!” Trixie shouted as she rushed to the farmer’s side. “Rarity’s in trouble! She needs your help in the town square!”

“What?! Hang on Rarity! Ah’ma comin’!”

Trixie waited until Applejack was gone, and then she turned to the stacks of cider barrels that Applejack had left behind with a glint in her eye.

“I can’t believe it!” Rainbow Dash shouted to a pouting Trixie. “You didn’t cut me in on your little scheme?!”

“That’s not the point,” Applejack said with a disapproving frown.

“What’s the big deal?” Trixie asked. “Trixie only took, like, half of a barrel. If even that.”

Rarity quickly moved herself in-between the two mares. “Girls, please. Can this not wait until another day?” She turned to Applejack and said, “Applejack dear, how about we go and take a look at the rodeo restaurant on the other end of the resort?”

Applejack’s ears perked up and she looked at Rarity excitedly. “Are ya sure?”

“Of course. You’ve been so patient with my own desires today that I feel it’s the least I can do.” Rarity lowered her eyelids in a seductive manner and added, “Besides, you might learn a thing or two for the bedroom.”

“You two can go have fun with that,” Rainbow Dash said as she finished her ice-cream. “Me and Trix were gonna go check out the airship tour.”

“You mean that one stickin’ outta the ocean?” Applejack asked.

“That’s the one,” Trixie confirmed. “It’s the remnants of an airship that crash-landed almost two hundred years ago, with an undersea aquarium attached to the cockpit.”

Applejack gave an appreciative whistle. “Sounds like fun, but ah think ah’d rather stick with dry land. Fish just freak me out.”

“Suit yourself,” Rainbow Dash said as she and Trixie both rose to their hooves. “Catch ya later, you two.”

“Try to behave yourselves, you two,” Trixie said with a wink.

“That should be our line,” Applejack retorted. She watched the two leave before turning to Rarity. “Can ya believe they’re still together after all this time?”

“Indeed. It certainly seems as though their relationship is moving on rather nicely,” Rarity replied, Applejack nodding her head in agreement. “Why, at this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them proposed anytime soon.” Rarity grinned as she leaned closer to Applejack, whose entire coat shivered as her body stiffened.

“… W-We should get goin’, too, if we wanna get ta the restaurant before it starts fillin’ up!” Applejack quickly vacated her seat and moved around the table, pulling out Rarity’s chair and assisting her marefriend to her hooves.

Rarity simply sighed as was escorted away from the small seating area. ‘One of these days she’s going to cave-in… I hope…’

“Now, if you’ll all follow me, I’ll show you the room where the ship’s officers would gather for private meetings. Please mind your head as the doorways are quite low.” The tour guide moved onwards with everypony following after him. Everypony except for Trixie and Rainbow Dash, the latter of which was still admiring the photograph of the ship’s crew hanging from the damaged display case.

Trixie, after finding nothing but boredom from staring at the same pictures and medals for ten minutes straight, decided to take a look outside of the window. They were just above the top of the ocean by that point, with the rest of the ship beginning to sink downwards into the water.

“It’s impressive that the ship landed in such a way that it hit the bottom of the water yet remained at this angle,” Trixie said, peering out of a window just a little further down and watching the fish swim by. “Supposedly the front of the ship is embedded into the seabed and the ship landed on one of its masts that snapped off midflight, keeping it in position.”

“This was the first ever ship to fly through the air,” Rainbow Dash said, her eyes still staring at the picture in the display case. “Princess Celestia was on this ship when it went down. The captain of the ship went down trying to fix the engine while it fell, not knowing the mast was broken, too.”

“You sound like you know your stuff.”

Rainbow nodded her head. “I like all things flying, but this airship in particular is special to me.”

“Oh? Why’s that?” Trixie asked. “Had your first kiss in here or something?”

“No… The captain of this ship was my grandfather.”

“Ah.” Trixie shuffled her forehooves about nervously before removing her hat. “Sorry to hear that.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Rainbow Dash said quickly. “I mean, this all happened long before I was even born, so I never really knew the guy to begin with. He was like my great great… great… something grandpa.”

“Makes sense, considering when this ship crashed. Still, you lost a family member here, so…” Trixie replaced her hat and gaze towards the entrance behind Rainbow Dash. “Perhaps we should leave?”

“Are you kiddin’ me?!” Rainbow Dash asked. “Don’t get me wrong, it sucks that he died in this thing, but still, my grandfather was the first ever captain of a flying ship! How awesome is that?!” Rainbow Dash ran past Trixie, an excited look covering her face. “C’mon, let’s go check out the cockpit! I wanna see the place where my grandpa flew this thing!”

“Be careful! It’s-” Before Trixie could finish her warning, Rainbow Dash slipped and fell onto her face down the hall. “… You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good…” Rainbow Dash collected herself and shook off the pain, before bolting down the hallway again.

Trixie chuckled and gave chase, moving much slower than Rainbow Dash, down the ship’s hallway.

After taking a detour from the rest of the tour group and investigating the rest of the ship by themselves, Trixie and Rainbow Dash eventually found their way to what was typically the end of the guided tour: the ship’s cockpit.

The walls had been reinforced by a strong metal to keep the water out, and drainage systems were in place in case the cockpit ever flooded again. Much of the room was in complete disarray, and there was even mould growing in some of the darker areas.

There wasn’t much room for the two to actually walk, as much of the room had been restricted by velvet rope for safety purposes. That didn’t seem to stop Rainbow Dash from approaching the captain’s seat, though. On the chair was a damp, crumbling old tome that was supposedly the captain’s diary, the pages said to be illegible thanks to the water that had flooded the cockpit almost two hundred years ago.

“Man, just look at how old some of these controls are!” Rainbow Dash investigated the steering wheel and almost found herself squealing from excitement. “This type of wheel hasn’t been used in so long! They’re too weak and get stuck really easily if you pull it just a little too hard!”

“It looks just like any other wheel to Trixie,” Trixie said. “Except for the ones that move her trailer.”

“Yeah, well, that’s ‘cause you don’t know anythin’,” Rainbow Dash said bluntly before gasping at the sight of the ship’s intercom system, which was nothing more than a several tin cans, each one attached to a piece of string. “This was how the captain spoke to his crew back then… So awesome!”

“The window seems to be made of a particularly weak glass,” Trixie observed as she walked cautiously across the room and observed the front-most part. “And the majority of this ship was made out of a light wood that any child with a baseball bat could break through with just a few swings.”

“I know, right?!” Rainbow Dash cried out. “They just don’t make ships like this anymore, which is what makes this so cool!”

“You like vintage ships?”

“Well… yeah. I guess I do! Y’know, like how you and Twilight like that Starbucks guy.”

“Starswirl,” Trixie corrected. “And I suppose I see your point. To you, this ship must be like the first ever recipe for fireworks to Trixie.”

Rainbow Dash examined a far corner of the room and her wings almost exploded as she found the emergency escape hatch that was installed on only the first ever wave of airships, designed for the captain to hide from enemy attacks. “I think I’m in love.”

Trixie glared at the front of the airship. “I’m watching you.” Something caught Trixie’s eye outside of the ship’s front window. Attached to the cockpit was a long tunnel system stretching out throughout the ocean, and not too far into the tunnel system was… “Hey, is that that Gilda griffon down there?”

Rainbow Dash snapped her head to Trixie immediately. “Gilda? No way. The only interest she has in fish are the ones she can eat.”

“Well it sure looks like her. And Fluttershy’s there, too.”

Rainbow Dash was interested now. She walked up to Trixie’s side and looked at where the showmare was pointing. Sure enough, there was Gilda, and beside the griffon, Fluttershy. “No way. What are they doing together?”

“Maybe they bumped into each other.” Trixie narrowed her eyes as she saw movement. It was blurry through the filter of water between them, but she was sure that Gilda was putting her claw on Fluttershy’s face and that the two were turning to face each other… and leaning closer and closer towards each other, almost as if they were… “K-KISSING?!”

“NO WAY!” Rainbow Dash banged on the window. “HEY! GILDA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Calm down!” Trixie shouted in an almost-pleading tone. “You’ll break the window!”

“It’s fine! It’s reinforced,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing to the notice beside Trixie that said as much. She then resumed banging on the window. “YOU’D BETTER NOT BE TAKIN’ ADVANTAGE OF HER OR I SWEAR TO CELESTIA-”

“I said to calm down!” Trixie repeated, using her magic to pull Rainbow Dash back. “You’re embarrassing yourself, and Trixie too! They can’t hear you from here.”

“But they were kissing!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she tried to move towards the window again, Trixie’s magic restraining her. “Gilda and Fluttershy…”

“They are both adults! They can do whatever they please!” Trixie said, straining to keep Rainbow Dash at bay. “Getting angry won’t do any good! Besides, shouldn’t you be happy that your friend found somepony they like? Even if it isn’t a pony?”

“B-But, Fluttershy’s always been so shy and willing to let ponies walk all over her! I gotta make sure she’s-”

“And you can do that, but Trixie thinks it would be bad if you were to just march over there and demand an answer from the two of them. How would you have felt if your friends had done the same to us?”

“What? Well, why would they?”

“Because Trixie was their enemy at one point?” Rainbow Dash stopped resisting and turned to the showmare. Even if it was beyond Trixie’s control, Trixie was once their enemy whom they had fought against. Even before then, we hadn’t exactly gotten off to the best start. Truth-be-told, Trixie was fully expecting unpleasant reactions when we told them of our relationship… but thankfully, they trusted your judgement.”

“Trixie…” Rainbow Dash felt the magic holding her fade away and she approached her marefriend.

“Even beyond then, Trixie was still concerned that they were only acting. That they were fully prepared to ambush you or Trixie when we were apart and interrogate us.”

“You really thought they’d do that?” Trixie nodded. “But… they never would. They’re my friends, they wouldn’t let the past get to them that way. We trust each other, and we-” Rainbow Dash slowly turned her head in the direction of the aquarium. “… You’re right… I should have more faith in her… and be happy for her.” Rainbow Dash smiled and turned back to Trixie. “Sorry for gettin’ a little carried away there…”

“Yes, well… Trixie would just hate to see a happy couple burdened in such a way. It’s not a pleasant thought…”

Upon seeing Trixie nervously shuffle about before her eyes, Rainbow Dash had almost no control over her body as she stepped forward and held the showmare. “Sorry for not seeing it back then… How long were you letting that worry you?”

Trixie simply shrugged as she eased into Rainbow’s hold. “Not long. You made most of Trixie’s unease fly away… pun fully intended.”

The two held the hug for some time before separating. “So… what now? I don’t really care about the aquarium. You interested?”

“Trixie is only particularly interested in seeing the stars at night. I suppose we could look for somewhere high up to do that, in the meantime…”

“Somewhere… high up…” An idea presented itself to Rainbow Dash. “I got it! Come with me!” Rainbow Dash pulled Trixie out of the cockpit the way they came in, leading her out of the sunken ship and towards their next destination.

“Isn’t nature fascinating?” Fluttershy asked as she watched the school of luminous fish swimming past the transparent tubing, lighting up the dark water for her to see more clearly.

Gilda simply shrugged, suppressing a great yawn with much effort. “To me, a fish is a fish. And a fish is better off when it’s my lunch.” Gilda licked her lips and leaned towards the glass as she pointed at one of the fish looking at the two. “I bet this one’d taste great with ketchup.”

The fish backed away with a panicked look on his face. Fluttershy nudged Gilda hard and gave the worried fish an apologetic look. “Don’t worry, she didn’t mean it. She won’t eat you.” The pegasus then gave the griffon a sideways glare. “Right?”

“Whatever,” Gilda responded in a bored tone.

“OW!”

“You okay?” Gilda asked as Fluttershy winced and held her left eye in her hoof.

“I-I don’t know. I think some water just dripped into my eye.”

Gilda looked up to find that a water pipe above them was dripping. “Well, at least it ain’t the tunnel. Lemme have a look.” Gilda grabbed the side of Fluttershy’s face with her claw and forced the pegasus’ eye open with her talons, leaning in to take a closer look. “… It isn’t red. Can you see me?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Then you’re probably fine,” Gilda concluded as she backed away, before taking a moment to consider just how close she had got to the pegasus. ‘Huh. Good thing nopony’s around, or that could’ve given off way too wrong an impression.’ Gilda’s ear twitched and she looked around.

“Is something wrong?”

Gilda scratched the top of her head as she turned back to Fluttershy. “I dunno. I thought someone was shoutin’ out to me, but there’s nopony here…”

“Well, maybe we should move on,” Fluttershy suggested. “Um, thanks again for agreeing to come along with me today.”

Gilda dismissed the thanks with a wave of her claw. “Forget it. It’s the least I could do after ya fixed up my wing. I still don’t get why ya didn’t just ask one of your friends to come along, but-”

“Well, Rarity and Applejack are on a date,” Fluttershy began to explain. “As are Trixie and Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie and the girls are just too overwhelming, and Twilight is…”

“The brainy one? What’s wrong with her? I bet she’d actually be interested in a place like this.”

‘Yeah… A little too interested. I wouldn’t be able to look at any of the fish without a two hour lecture on everything about them,’ Fluttershy thought to herself. She smiled and said, “I just don’t think she likes fish.”

Gilda tilted her head in confusion, but didn’t bother questioning it. “Whatever. You just lead the way already.”

The Lady Firefly, the second airship ever to sail across Equestria’s skies and said to be one of three creations responsible for bringing Equestria into the modern age. It soared proudly in the air above Horseshoe, open for any and all tourists who wished to see this wonder from the past, or just for couples who wanted a great view of the sunset in the distance.

Trixie had visited the Lady Firefly previously, but had forgotten how big the ship truly was. Compared to the chariot carrying herself and Rainbow Dash towards it, it was like the difference between an ursa major and a stupid little colt who had wandered into its cave.

“We’re almost there,” Rainbow Dash observed as the chariot started to pull up sharply. “This thing still uses steam engines to move. Most airships these days have moved onto magic power.”

“Airships these days still have steam engines as a backup though, right?” Trixie asked.

“That’s right,” Rainbow answered. “But since most ponies who own airships these days are unicorn nobles, magic engines don’t tend to fail during flights.”

“We should have come here during the evening. Trixie has heard that the view is much better when the sun sets.”

“It’d be too crowded then. I wanna look around the ship before too many ponies show up. Though, I guess we could come back later tonight, too… if ya really want to.”

Trixie opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the chariot suddenly rocking, shaking the two mares inside and causing the showmare to grab her marefriend with a startled yelp.

“You two okay?!” one of the stallion’s pulling the chariot asked. “Sorry ‘bout that! Rough wind up here!”

“W-We’re fine!” Rainbow Dash said, averting her eyes from the panting mare grabbing her chest like a foal seeking its mother’s protection.

Trixie gasped as she realised what she was doing and quickly pushed away. “Idiot! Trixie doesn’t need you to hold onto her like she’s some helpless filly!”

‘You were the one grabbing me, though,’ Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she laughed.

“Stop that,” Trixie said with a growing blush. Rainbow’s laughter did not halt. “I said stop!” Trixie nudged Rainbow Dash, causing her to tumble backwards and fall over the edge of the chariot. “OH NO! RAI-”

Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared from below the chariot with a loud, “BOO!” Trixie found herself jumping as the hysterical pegasus landed onto the chariot, wiping a tear from her eye. “Oh man, you’re too much!” Trixie was fuming, her lips turning full pout as she turned her back to Rainbow Dash with a huff. “Ah, c’mon! Lighten up already!” Rainbow said as she wrapped a wing around Trixie and pulled her closer. “Look! We’re almost there!”

The chariot touched down onto the deck of the ship. Rainbow Dash stood up so that she could leave, but was not expecting to be suddenly pushed off of the side of the chariot by something and landing on her flank.

“OW! Hey, what gives?!” Rainbow asked a smirking Trixie standing above her on the chariot.

Trixie simply replied, “And now we’re even.” The showmare jumped off of the chariot and helped the pegasus to her hooves. “Shall we?” she asked as she led the way down the ship’s deck.

“Aww yeah. This view is awesome.” Rainbow Dash stretched her legs before falling down onto her haunches beside Trixie. The two were sat on the ship’s bowsprit, looking out into the vast ocean before them with the beach just below. Thousands of ponies all moving around seemed like ants to the two and the bright sun was shining down, unobstructed by cloud, creating a warm, pleasant breeze. “Make sure you don’t fall off. Long way down, y’know.”

“Trixie will be perfectly fine,” Trixie replied as she gently nudged Rainbow Dash. “If you could not catch Trixie before she hit the ground from this height, you would not be allowed to call yourself the fastest in all of Equestria.”

“Got that right. I could go down there and order a dozen oatdogs, and still make it back up in time to catch you.”

“Let’s not test that.” Trixie leaned against Rainbow Dash’s shoulder with a pleasant sigh. “As you said, this is a great view. It would probably be even better at night.”

Rainbow Dash blushed from the sudden contact. The two had been dating for some time now, but even so, she still could not get used to seeing this side to Trixie. A side that made her feel warm and content. A side that made her want to hold the showmare close and not let go. A side that was making her lose her balance and almost fall off of the ship!

“Uh-oh!” Rainbow quickly adjusted herself so that she was balanced on the bowsprit once more. She gave a nervous chuckle before easing back into her spot, leaning the side of her head against the top of Trixie’s mane. “… Hey, how long we been goin’ out now?”

“A few months,” Trixie said. “Trixie must admit that she is surprised. She’s heard that first romances don’t always last that long.”

“Yeah. I gotta admit, I wasn’t really sure whether we’d make it this far or not at first. I mean, we kinda started quick but, I dunno, I’ve had a lot of fun with ya.”

Trixie nodded her head. “You were the first pony in a long time to stand up for Trixie. Maybe that’s what first drew me towards you.”

“And for me, I just felt like I wanted to protect you. For a while, I thought maybe that’d go away after you got back on your hooves. But it didn’t. I still wanna protect you, obviously, but there’s more to it now. I wanna spend more time with you, have more fun like we did today, know more about you and…” Rainbow Dash felt herself blushing again, this time for an entirely different reason. “Darn it. You’ve got me sayin’ cheesy stuff again.”

Trixie giggled. “That makes two of us,” she said. “For some time now, Trixie has found herself saying things she would normally save for the stage. Regardless of whatever drew us together at first, Trixie is glad that we gave this a chance.”

“Me too,” Rainbow Dash agreed, closing her eyes and smiling contently.

“And who knows? Maybe one day there’ll be a bunch of little Trixies and Dashies running around.”

Rainbow’s eyes snapped open and she backed up immediately. “Whoa whoa whoa! What?!” Rainbow felt something pressing against her nose and found it to be Trixie’s hoof.

“Gotcha,” she said. “Come now. You honestly think that Trixie can settle down with a litter of little ones before she has made sure that the entire world remembers her name?”

Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head. She then smiled again. “Speaking of, your trailer’s almost ready.”

“Ah, yes. Applejack has put a lot of work into that.”

“So I guess it’ll be back to the road after that.” Trixie nodded her head, causing something inside of Rainbow Dash’s stomach to stir. “You-”

“Hey, Dash?” Trixie asked, her attention focussed towards the ocean before her. “What’s that?”

Rainbow Dash followed Trixie’s gaze out to sea. She gasped at what she saw. “That’s a…” Moving towards the beach at a very high speed was a giant spiral of wind, spinning around just above the water and growing bigger by the second. “A TORANDO!”

“Why is it coming towards us?” Trixie asked, climbing to her hooves and taking a couple of steps back.

“I don’t know, but it isn’t right!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she took to the air. “Forgetting to announce a small thunderstorm is one thing, but a tornado? Those are always announced weeks in advanced!”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means this wasn’t a scheduled weather event!”

“Oi! You two get back over here!” a voice shouted from behind the two mares. “We’re gonna land this rig and evacuate the ponies down below!”

“You stay on the ship,” Rainbow Dash said as she watched Trixie climb off of the bowsprit.

“What? What about you?” Trixie asked.

“I gotta go check somethin’ out.” Rainbow Dash dashed away from the ship and down towards the beach quickly, leaving Trixie behind.

“H-HEY, WAIT! RAINBOW DASH, COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!”

“What’s happening?!”

“It’s the end of the world! Repent! Repent!”

“Somepony do something!”

“Everypony, remain calm!” a voice rang out and echoed across the beach, though only about half of the voices were silenced by this. “Please evacuate in a calm and orderly fashion! There is enough room in the Lady Firefly for everypony!”

As if on cue, the mentioned airship began to descend onto the beach, creating powerful gusts of wind that blew sand and personal effects everywhere and alerted the panicking ponies to its presence.

Trixie waited until the airship had landed before jumping out and looking for Rainbow Dash. She had seen the pegasus fly into the crowd but lost her shortly afterwards. Pushing past the hoard of ponies running in the opposite direction proved difficult and made it all the more difficult to find the rainbow-maned pegasus that she was looking for.

“Rainbow Dash! Where are you?!” Trixie found an opening where she could stand still for a moment and find her bearings. Ahead of her, Trixie caught sight of a group of ponies wearing the familiar uniform of the Wonderbolts, speaking with a panicked-looking pony in a blue suit and a young mare beside him. “Hey!”

The ponies turned to Trixie as she called out to and approached them. “Please evacuate, ma’am! This area isn’t safe!”

“So I’ve noticed!” Trixie yelled before feeling her hat blowing off of her head and watching it fly away. “… What’s going on here?! Why is there a tornado heading right towards this crowded area?!”

“As we have just explained to the resort’s owner, the tornado currently heading this way was not our doing!” the goggled mare with the orange mane explained. “The pony in charge of one of Cloudsdale’s weather factories was found cutting corners on machine maintenance, and this was the result of that!”

“Well, should you be doing something about it?!”

“We don’t have enough flyers! We need to wait for backup to arrive, or else we’ll just risk injuring ourselves and being unable to do anything!”

Trixie gritted her teeth together. “Forget flying then! Maybe Trixie’s magic can help!”

“NO!” the mare shouted, taking a hard step forward that caused Trixie to move backwards. “Absolutely not! Forcing a tornado to stop with magic will only result in an explosion that would endanger the lives of everypony here, and- Wait a minute, you look familiar…”

“So I should! The Great and Powerful Trixie was once rejected from joining the Wonderbolts, by your former captain!”

The mare gasped. “You’re Trixie Lulamoon?! It’s been ages!”

“It has, Spitfire! So what’s it like being at the top?!”

“Oh, y’know! Got the power to boss everypony around and the new cadets are always kissin’ your flank! Hey, I’m sorry you got shot down like that, but on the bright side I hear your show’s been doing good lately!”

“That’s right! The Great and Powerful Trixie has done just fine without your talentless crew!”

“Hey, c’mon now! I get you’re bitter, but there’s no call for-”

“Uh, Captain?!” Soarin asked beside Spitfire. “Shouldn’t we be focussing on the bigger problem here?!”

“You said you need more flyers!” Trixie affirmed, earning a nod from Spitfire. “How many are we talking?!”

“For something this big, we’d need at least six ponies who can break the sound barrier!” Spitfire answered. “All three of us can do that, so we’re halfway there, but any less than that is too big a risk!”

‘With Rainbow Dash, that makes four,’ Trixie thought to herself. ‘Even if Gilda can break the sound barrier, that’s still only five. Darn it! If there are any talented flyers in this crowd, finding them would be difficult in all this chaos!’

“Anyway, you should evacuate! There’s not much room for a magician when it comes to weather-handling!”

Trixie glared at the Wonderbolt captain, but didn’t say anything. She had to admit that her knowledge on weather events wasn’t the best. Being a unicorn, there was never a need to study such things in school, and the subject itself had never appealed to Trixie before meeting Rainbow Dash. Even so, she couldn’t just accept the idea that she was unable to do anything but evacuate.

“There must be something I can-”

“TRIXIE!” Trixie gasped and looked around, and then up into the sky, where she found a blue blur moving quickly down towards her. “There you are! I told you to wait on the ship!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Trixie and Spitfire both shouted in unison.

Rainbow Dash looked at Spitfire behind her, and then back to Trixie in front of her. “Oh man. Talk about your all-time greatest fantasies!”

“What are you-” Spitfire began, but was cut off by Rainbow Dash zipping forward and carrying Trixie into the air. “WAIT!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Trixie gasped in surprise as she was carried through the air and towards the tornado. “What are you-”

“So, you wanna put on a show for everypony?!” Rainbow asked before giving Trixie a grin. “How about… stopping a massive tornado with just the two of us?!”

“But Spitfire said it’s not possible with just one flyer and- Will you stop flying us closer to that thing?!”

“Normally, yeah, it would be impossible! But like I said, this tornado wasn’t scheduled, meaning it probably wasn’t created right, either! I checked it out and there are some weak points that aren’t usually there for a tornado that size!”

“That’s great! … What does it mean?”

“It means that it’s safe to use your magic to stabilise it, while I slow it down by spinning in the opposite direction!”

Trixie looked at the nearing typhoon of certain death with a worrying look. “Are you sure?!”

“Totally! The Wonderbolts may be faster flyers, but they’re not trained to handle the weather ‘cause it’s not their job! I know how to start and stop any kinda weather event from just a quick look!” Rainbow Dash slowed to a stop, flapping her wings hard to keep her from being blown towards the encroaching tornado. “If you don’t feel so good, I can take you back now! So what d’you say?!”

Trixie felt her heart racing. There she was, in a situation dealing with forces completely out of her comfort zone, but apparently it was all going to be alright… if Rainbow Dash was correct. Any sane pony would demand they be flown back to the shore immediately and let the Wonderbolts handle it, but then the guarantee was coming from somepony that Trixie trusted. Just how much did she trust in Rainbow Dash? Enough to put her own life on the line?

“… Okay.” Apparently so. “Trixie will trust you on this, but if this gets us killed, we are so through!”

“It’ll be fine! I just need you to focus your magic! Y’see those pink spots that sometimes pass by?!”

Trixie hadn’t actually paid it much thought. To her, a spinning cyclone of destruction was all the evaluation that was needed. But then, after giving it another look-over, there was something there. “Are those the weak points?!”

“Yeah! It shows that the manufacturing process wasn’t completed before this thing was unleashed! If you hit those parts, you can steady the tornado without it blowing up!”

“They’re moving pretty fast, but they seem to be following a rhythm! Trixie should be able to hit them just fine!”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Alright! Just remember I’ll be flying around in the opposite direction, too!” After taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash pushed forward again and took a sharp left, circling around the tornado whilst keeping herself a good distance away. “Now!”

Trixie narrowed her eyes and resisted the urge to blink as she focussed on the pink spots flying by her. Her horn sparked and a beam of magic hit the first spot. It was difficult to tell, but it seemed to have slowed the tornado down somewhat.

“Keep it up! This is definitely working!”

Trixie was impressed. Rainbow Dash was actually right. Together, they were stopping a rogue tornado all by themselves, and the best part of it was… she could show up the Wonderbolts. “This’ll teach you not to turn Trixie away!” Trixie shouted as she fired her second round, slowing the tornado down further.

The two continued this, creating a lightshow for the ponies on the beach as they brought the tornado down to a gradually gentle breeze, before finally Rainbow Dash was able to disperse it completely with just a kick of her hoof.

As the two returned to the beach, they were met with cheers and applause by tourists and resort staff alike. And needless to say, the two took the praise and adoration very humbly… or about as humbly as one would expect them to.

“It was nothing, really!” Rainbow Dash insisted as she signed autographs. “Well, nothing for pros like us!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie proves once again that magic triumphs over all other forces!” Trixie boasted as she handed out little Trixie plush toys to admiring fillies and colts. “Told you ponies would want them,” she whispered to Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash! Trixie!” Applejack pushed her way through the crowd of ponies and to meet her two friends. “Are you two alright?!”

“‘Course we are!” Rainbow Dash said as she flexed a foreleg. “Didn’t you see us out there? We were awesome!”

“A ten-star duo performance,” Trixie added with a flick of her mane. “Don’t worry. We’ll tell you all about it on the way home.”

Applejack frowned. “Guess y’all are okay, then, if yer egos are any indication.”

“I told you that there was no need to worry,” Rarity said as she joined Applejack, Fluttershy and Gilda following behind her.

“Y’all were about ta pass out when Fluttershy pointed out what Dash was doin’!” Applejack said, earning a scoff from Rarity. “Gilda was the one who said we didn’t have ta- Wait, what’s Gilda doin’ here, anyway?!”

All attention shifted to the griffon. “Oh,” Fluttershy said, backing up with a sheepish smile. “W-Well, I just happened to bump into her and, uh…”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said. “We saw you earlier. We know all about it.”

“You do?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh, I’m sorry for not telling you. I just didn’t want to interrupt your-”

“You don’t have to explain,” Rainbow Dash said, looking past Fluttershy and forcing her best smile as she looked straight at a confused-looking Gilda. “You… can do whatever you want, I guess. A-And I’m… happy for you…”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Don’t try too hard. Trixie almost believed you,” Trixie whispered.

“Hey! Acting is your forté!” Rainbow Dash whispered back.

“What are you talkin’ about?” Gilda asked.

Rainbow Dash reapplied her smile and turned back to Gilda. “I’m just sayin’, I’m happy for you guys and… I totally… s-support it…”

Applejack seemed just as confused as Gilda and Fluttershy did. “Hey, you understand what’s goin’ on here?” she asked Rarity in a whisper.

“Well, from what I can tell, it seems that Fluttershy and Gilda are now an item,” Rarity answered.

Applejack’s eyes shot open. “You serious?!” Rarity nodded, and Applejack began to sweat as she noticed Fluttershy and Gilda looking right at her. “T-That’s great! You, uh… Ah’m happy for ya!”

Gilda looked at Fluttershy, who simply shrugged. “Uh… thanks?” Gilda turned to Rainbow Dash. “Anyway, you’ve got some explainin’ ta do. I know you’re fast, but there’s no way you should’ve been able to disperse a tornado all on your own.”

“I’m quite interested to hear about that, too,” Spitfire said, appearing from the crowd with her two teammates flanking her sides. She gave the two heroes a proud smile. “It’ll help me with rethinking some of our training exercises in the future.”

“It wasn’t that difficult, really,” Rainbow Dash said. “We-”

“Aimed for the tornado’s weak spots.”

Rainbow Dash glared at Trixie. “Right. The tornado wasn’t finished properly before it was released, so there were obvious points where magic could be used to hold it stable. After that-”

“And then Dashie slowed it down by spinning in the opposite direction whilst Trixie kept focussing her magic. Thus, we slowed the cyclone down and vanquished it forever!” Trixie gave a flourish as the crowd around her applauded.

“Y’know I’m the one who came up with the whole plan, right?” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. “I even got in close all by myself just to make sure.”

“I get it,” Gilda said, sending a sideways grin to the Wonderbolts beside her. “The so-called ‘Wonder’bolts here are fast, but they know next-ta-nothin’ about how weather is made. That’s how they got shown up by a simple weatherpony.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “That’s not really-”

“No. She’s got a point,” Spitfire said. “The Wonderbolts were founded as Equestria’s elite air squad, with knowledge in anything and everything to do with the sky. Over the years, we’ve let the celebratory status get to our heads and now leave all the mediocre jobs to those pegasi who can’t make it into our ranks. I guess this time, that almost cost us a great deal of lives here at Horseshoe Bay…”

“Rainbow Dash here is a true weatherpony, though,” Applejack said, patting her friend on the back. “A real pro! Ah dare say best weatherpony there’s ever been!”

Spitfire nodded her head in agreement. “You got that right. Rainbow Dash, when it comes to the weather, you’ve got real talent.”

Rainbow Dash listened as she was showered with praise. ‘Best weatherpony’ sounded nice, of course, but she could not help but feel her stomach drop and her spirits fall. “Heh. Like I said, it was nothing…”

“And Trixie ha once again proven-” Trixie looked around. “By the way, where is Twilight Sparkle? Trixie thought she would have been here.”

“Now that ya mention it, ah didn’t see her helpin’ organise the evacuation earlier,” Applejack said.

“I haven’t seen Pinkie Pie around for some time, either,” Rarity said. “I do hope that those two are okay.”

“I’m glad to see you’ve rejoined us, Miss Sparkle,” the doctor said as Twilight sat up on her hospital bed, groaning in a groggy tone as she looked around the room. “Your friends are waiting outside. I’ll just need to run some tests before I decide whether I can discharge you or not, but first, I have a question for you.”

“A… question?” Twilight asked as she put a hoof to her head. For once in her life, Twilight wasn’t looking forward to any form of quiz. Her head was pounding and hr back was aching.

“Just a simple one, I assure you. How in Equestria… did those three fillies manage to light your back on fire simply by applying sunscreen?”

As night descended onto Horseshoe Bay, Trixie took Rainbow Dash back to the Lady Firefly to show her the wonders that the night sky held. Rainbow Dash always knew that the view from high up was awesome, but she had never really taken the time to see what it was like at night. She had just assumed that there would be no point, what with it being too dark to see anything anyway.

However, Rainbow Dash learned that night that the night sky possessed a different type of ‘awesome’ than during the day. The stars in the sky seemed so much brighter when she took the time to look at them. The moon seemed so much larger than she ever remembered. The sky was like a deep, dark abyss, threatening to suck her in, and yet it was somehow calming at the same time.

And then there was Trixie, who was going on and on about the various constellations and asterisms in the sky. She seemed so happy and energetic that it made Rainbow Dash feel good. She also looked cute whenever she blushed after realising Rainbow Dash was looking at her.

“I just don’t see it,” Rainbow Dash said, tilting her head at the stars in the sky. “They’re all just dots to me. How d’you know which ones to connect to where?”

“Perhaps you’re just lacking in imagination,” Trixie teased. “Or perhaps you should tell Luna to number them for you.”

“Look, I’ll admit the stars are awesome, but I just don’t see any ‘dippers’ or ‘belts’.”

Trixie shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well. Perhaps Trixie will get you a book on astronomy from Canterlot next week.”

Rainbow’s ear twitched. ‘That’s right, she’s going to start her travels up again?’ “… You gonna travel a lot starting next week?”

“Hm? Uh, maybe. I mean, Trixie obviously has to make up for lost time first.”

“It must be tough, always on the road like that. I mean, even if you come back, you’re still on your own during that time.”

“Well, it’s just one of the sacrifices that the Great and Powerful Trixie is willing to make to fulfil her dream.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “You… don’t give up on that.” Rainbow sighed and leaned her head against Trixie’s, hiding her frown from the showmare. ‘… While I stay as a simple weatherpony, not making any progress towards my dream.’

Author's Note

Wow, this thing is over a year old now. I honestly didn't think I'd be working on it for this long when I started it up, but there ya go ^_^;;

22 - Something's On Dashie's Mind

“Are you sure that you’re up for this?”

Twilight Sparkle nodded. “The only way I’m going to understand these notes is by learning some illusionary magic. And who better to ask than a friend who specialises in the field?”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” Trixie said. She straightened out her hat and stood tall before Twilight Sparkle. “Very well then. Trixie shall teach you the basics of illusionary magic. To begin, what is your current skill level?”

“I read some books back in Celestia’s school,” Twilight answered. “The subject was never in any of my classes so I didn’t focus so much on it, but now I’ve found this really interesting book that I can only understand if I know some-”

“Yes yes, Trixie heard you the first time. Then for your first test, please observe the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Twilight nodded her head and stared intently at her friend. “… So we’ll have to start from the very beginning.”

“Huh?” Twilight asked with a confused look. “What do you mean? Did I mess up or something?”

Trixie reached into her cape and pulled out a piece of black cloth. “For your first lesson, Trixie wants you to walk around Ponyville and go about your daily life with this blindfold on.”

Twilight’s confusion only grew. “Uh… I don’t see how that will-”

“Lesson one on illusionary magic,” Trixie said as she used her magic to apply the blindfold over Twilight’s eyes. “Illusions work by attacking the senses of the caster’s target. To break through one, you must hone all of your senses.”

“But I don’t want to break through one,” the now-blindfolded Twilight said as she looked up into the air. “I just want to know the basics of casting them.”

“Before Trixie teaches you how to cast them, she must first be satisfied that you can break them,” Trixie said in a serious tone. “Otherwise you may risk being trapped in your own illusion.”

“Well, that does sound bad…” Twilight shifted her head left as she heard the sounds of giggling. “So you’ve cut off my sight so that I can build up my other senses? But that will take too long!”

“You’d be surprised,” Trixie returned. She used her magic to spin Twilight around. “Now get going. Trixie will check on your progress one week from today.”

Twilight slowly lifted a hoof forward, followed by another, and another, as she gradually made her way back towards Ponyville.

Trixie turned to her other two pupils struggling to lift weights on their backs behind her. “Alright, that’s enough warming up for you two,” she said as she lifted the weights off of the two colts, causing them to sigh in relief as they collapsed to the floor. “Today, Trixie will send you on a scavenger hunt.” Trixie levitated two sheets of paper towards the two foals.

“A scavenger hunt?” Snips asked.

“Can we rest first?” Snails followed.

“Yes, and no. As you can see the riddles are so simple that even the two of you should find zero difficulty solving them. The issue comes with obtaining the items at their locations, which will require the use of a specific type of magic. You must figure that part out for yourselves.”

“Just… give us a minute…” Snips pleaded through haggard breath.

Trixie turned around to leave. “The last one to find me with all of their items will have to lift two times the weight you lifted today.” Trixie glanced over her shoulder to find the foals both running as fast as they could to their first locations. “Now that that is out of the way, the Great and Powerful Trixie has some business to attend to.”

SLURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP!

Rainbow’s eyes were fixated onto the space in front of her as she continued to drink the air remaining inside of her empty glass. The straw lifted as she clenched her teeth and she spat it out with a sigh. “This sucks…”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow bolted at the sound of her name being called and lifted her head to find Rarity looking cross as she held the previously discarded straw in her magic. “Honestly! I thought that you knew better than to litter!” The straw was levitated towards a nearby bin and deposited gently inside.

“Oh. Hey Rarity,” Rainbow Dash said as she settled back down into her seat. “What’s up?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Of course. Why d’you ask?”

“I can’t help notice that you’re looking a little ‘down in the dumps’.” Rarity used her magic to bring out a large couch from her side. “Would you like to borrow my dramatic fainting sofa?”

“No thanks. I’m fine, really.” Rainbow Dash noticed movement behind Rarity and tilted her head to find… “Is that Twilight?”

Rarity turned around and found the very purple alicorn in question wobbling towards them with a blindfold over her eyes. “Indeed it is. Though there’s… something different about her today.”

Twilight reached around herself with her wings as her head remained pointing skywards and her hooves stretched all around looking for suitable places to land. She heard giggling in front of herself and felt something hit her right foreleg and tripped face-first into the ground.

“Hey, watch it!” Diamond Tiara shouted as she turned to Twilight, who had climbed to her hooves and was dusting herself off. She and Silver Spoon immediately bowed. “Er, Princess Twilight.” The two foals quickly took off with excitedly squeals. “Oh em gee, she totally touched me!”

Rainbow Dash and Rarity both watched Twilight quizzically as she slowly walked past them. “… Okay, I’ll bite.” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and hovered to just in front of her friend. “What’s up, Your Highness?”

“Oh, hi Rainbow Dash!” Twilight waved as she looked to her left. She felt a pair of hooves shift her head so that she was facing directly forward. “Oh. Eheheh…”

“Whatever are you thinking, walking around with your eyes covered like that?” Rarity asked as she tugged at the blindfold with her magic, only to feel another force fighting back.

“No, don’t remove it! It’s part of my training!” Twilight said, bringing her hooves up to assist her magic holding the blindfold tight.

“Your ‘training’?” Rarity asked. “Twilight, dear, I thought you were over trying to read five books at once?”

“Yeah. Even you can’t read a book you can’t see,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m not training for that!” Twilight told them. “And clearly you’ve never heard of ‘brail’.”

“Then what’s this about?”

“I found a really interesting notebook written by Starswirl the Bearded’s son, Starswirl the Clean-shaven, that talks about the unity of magical elements to create a new type of spell capable of-”

“The version for non-eggheads?”

Twilight frowned. “I found a new notebook, but to understand some of what it talks about I need to have experience in illusionary magic, so I asked Trixie to teach me some of the basics.”

“And she sent you around Ponyville wearing a blindfold?” Rarity asked.

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck. “It… sounded legitimate when she explained it to me…” Twilight quickly shook her head. “No, Trixie’s a friend, and friends trust each other! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to- OW!”

“Are you okay?!” Rarity asked as she rushed to her friend’s side. Twilight rubbed her head after colliding with the lamppost in the street and then shook off the pain.

“I’m fine,” she said as she wobbled forwards. “T-Totally fine! Don’t worry about it!”

“… This will end badly,” Rarity said. “Still, I suppose one cannot fault her for lack of devotion to her studies.”

Rainbow’s ears flattened. “Yeah… she’s totally determined, isn’t she?”

Rarity turned around and put a hoof to her chin. An idea presented itself to her and she took Rainbow’s hoof in her own. “Rainbow Dash, dear, I can tell that something is bothering you. Why don’t you come and tell me all about it, hm?”

“I told you, there’s nothing-”

“We can discuss it over cake.”

“… Well, maybe there’s a little something on my mind.”

Applejack lined up her shot, angled herself just right, rested her hind hooves against the bark of the tree and lowered herself. “This’s it,” Applejack said to herself. “Fifty-three apples on this one tree. An’ ah’m gonna get ‘em all with jus’ one buck, beatin’ Mac’s record and earnin’ me braggin’ rights for a whole week.”

Applejack pulled in her hind legs, aimed her kick over her shoulders and accounted for the wind. All conditions were perfect. All that was left was to buck-

“Hey Applejack.”

-Trixie’s face?! Applejack halted herself just short of her hooves making contact with the showmare’s features.

“W-What are you doing?!” a startled Trixie asked as she teleported to safety behind the tree.

“What am ah doin’?! Ah’m not the one blinkin’ in front of a buckin’ pony!”

“Well there’s hardly a need for that kind of language,” Trixie said.

“No, ah mean that ah was about ta buck that tree y’all are hidin’ behind!”

Trixie examined the apples on the tree and the buckets lined up beneath it. “… Well maybe you should warn ponies in advance. Wear some sort of uniform so they know that you’re working?”

“Or maybe y’all could just look before ya leap- … Y’all really are jus’ right for Dash,” Applejack sighed as she rubbed her head.

“Oh, right. Trixie came to talk to you about Rainbow Dash.” Trixie looked around. “She’s not napping around here, is she?”

“If she is, she’s bein’ sneakier than usual,” Applejack said. “Hasn’t come talk ta me, either. Somethin’ wrong?”

“Not… particularly.”

Applejack shook her head solemnly as Trixie’s eyes shifting and hoof scuffing the ground made her lie very apparent. “Y’all ever hear of the girl who cried ursa?”

Trixie’s eyes shot venom at the grinning farmer. “How long do you intend to use that against Trixie?”

“Jus’ so long as ya keep doin’ stupid things. C’mon, tell me what’s on yer mind. Ah should probably be takin’ a break ‘round about now anyway.”

Trixie sighed and gave a simply shrug as she used her magic to collect an apple from a nearby basket. “It’s an issue that even the Great and Powerful Trixie has been mulling over for some time now. Do you really think that you can help?”

“Do ah need ta point out ah’ve been in a relation a lot longer than you?”

“… Fair point.”

“Y’all will have ta pay for that,” Applejack said as Trixie took a bite out of her apple. A bit flew out of Trixie’s cloak and into Applejack’s hoof.

“Well, maybe it’s just Trixie’s imagination, but Dash has been acting rather off lately.”

“How d’ya mean ‘off’?”

“Distracted. Maybe even concerned? But when Trixie asks her what’s wrong and she says nothing, it doesn’t seem like she’s lying, but at the same time it still seems like something’s weighing on her mind.”

“Hmmm… Can’t say ah’ve noticed anythin’ out the ordinary. Maybe she’s jus’ tired?”

Trixie shook her head. “Her snoring has kept Trixie up at night. Trust me, she gets enough sleep.”

“Is there anythin’ else y’all have noticed?”

Trixie hesitated before answering. “Dash has been… acting distant, too… Trixie is worried- Well, more like concerned, just a bit-”

“What?” Applejack pushed.

“… Maybe Rainbow Dash is… losing interest in our relationship?”

Applejack’s eyes widened, before she quickly gave a reassuring smile. “Now ah’m sure that ain’t it.”

“Well it certainly seems that way sometimes,” Trixie huffed. “She acts distant, she doesn’t fully listen when Trixie speaks, and she always tries to end conversations before they can even begin.”

“Ah’m sure there is somethin’ on Rainbow’s mind, but ah don’t think y’all should be jumpin’ the gun like this.” Applejack tapped a hoof to her chin as she thought. “It ain’t like Dash ta jus’ leave y’all hangin’ if she does wanna… end things between ya, but then ah also can’t see her keepin’ quiet for this long about a problem.”

“It’s over between us, isn’t it?” Trixie asked as she glared angrily at the apple in her magic before taking an aggressive bite out of the fruit.

“What did ah jus’ say ‘bout jumpin’ the gun? Now you listen here. Ah’ve seen the way you an’ Dash have been gettin’ along an’ lemme tell ya, there’s more chemistry between ya than a… well, a chemical… reaction?”

“… Nice.”

“Point is, ah don’t know what’s goin’ on in Dash’s head, but there’s somepony that does.”

“Yeah? Who?”

“… Rainbow Dash?”

Trixie fell silent for a moment before clearing her throat. “Trixie knew that.”

“Now if there’s one thing ah’ve learned from mah own relationship with Rarity, it’s that ya should speak ta the other pony and tell ‘em your concerns, an’ then get them to share their own.”

Trixie slowly nodded. “Maybe you’re right, but-”

“An’ if they don’t wanna tell ya, ya nag an’ nag an’ nag and NAG…”

“Well Trixie has her own methods, but thanks for-”

“And then when that doesn’t work y’all whine an’ whine until FINALLY I cave in an’ tell her, even though it really wasn’t anythin’ big an’ was hardly even on mah mind! Honestly, ah’m a grown mare! Ah don’t need ya ta act like a mother towards me!”

Trixie backed away slowly. “Well then, the Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you for your time. Uh, I’ll just be going now…”

Trixie’s words went unheard by Applejack. “An’ enough with the hoofkerchief already! It was cute at first but now it’s jus’ annoying! Why wipe mah face when it’ll just get dirty again anyway?! An’ mah hat doesn’t need straightening every time there’s a simply gust o’ wind!”

“Big sis?” Applejack jumped and slowly turned around to find Apple Bloom staring at her.

Applejack’s face flushed red and the sound of a clock ticking echoed in her head as time seemed to halt for the farm mare. “… Ah’ll take one week of yer chores if ya forget what ya jus’ saw.”

Apple Bloom gasped in excitement, before quickly collecting herself and filing her hoof with a disinterested look. “Well, ah mean, sure. But ah’ll still remember what ah heard.”

“… Three weeks of chores.”

“Deal!” Apple Bloom turned and walked away with a spring in her step.

Applejack meanwhile slammed a hoof into her face and grumbled angrily. “Note ta self: stop talkin’ ta self.”

Rarity stirred her hot tea with her magic and blew into it gently, ensuring that it was just the right temperature before bringing the beverage to her lips. Sitting at the opposite end of the table, Rainbow Dash was downing the last of her second can of soda before wiping her lips and slamming the can onto the table with a refreshed sigh.

“Now then, what is it that’s troubling you?” Rarity asked as she gently lowered her teacup. “You may think of me as just a simple tailor, but I want you to understand that I am your friend and, though you may not realise it, plenty wise beyond my years. If you’re having any troubles, especially of a romantic nature, I would be delighted if you would come to me for help.”

“Uh… sure. Okay,” Rainbow Dash said in an unsure tone. “Actually, this does kinda have something to do with me and Trixie.”

Rarity leaned forward at almost the speed of light with stars in her eyes. “I knew it! Well then, let’s hear it!” Rarity felt her tail wagging and willed it to stop, causing her to realise what she was doing and to quickly pull back and regain her dignified air. “… So that I can help you, of course.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Are you… just lookin’ for some gossip?”

“Why, whatever do you mean?” Rarity laughed as she waved her hoof dismissively. “Rainbow Dash, you can be so silly!”

Rainbow Dash leaned back with a frustrated groan. “I knew it wouldn’t be this easy. Maybe I should just go talk to Applejack…”

“Now hold it right there!” Rarity demanded, stomping a hoof onto the table. “I am the leading authority on romance in this circle of friends! If you are having troubles with your love life, you should always come to me first!”

“It’s not even about Trixie!” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s about… the Wonderbolts…”

“The Wonderbolts?” Rarity gave her friend a deadpan look. “Rainbow Dash, dear, I know that you spoke about dating all of the Wonderbolts at one time, and I didn’t think I’d need to tell you this, but that’s simply not going to happen.”

“It’s not that,” Rainbow Dash told her friend in a flat tone. “And you don’t know that,” she added in a mumble.

“Then what is it?”

“Well… Okay, here’s the deal: the course I’m on now is the slow one, right? Four years at the least is the minimum requirement before I can take the final initiation test into the Wonderbolts, and I go up there every weekend. The faster course is only a year long, but to do that, I need to spend all of my time at the academy.”

Rarity nodded her head as she listened to Rainbow Dash’s story. “Is that so? I never knew that.”

“And, well, I’ve been thinkin’ lately… that at the rate I’m goin’ now, it’ll be a long time before I become a Wonderbolt. But joining them has been my dream for as long as I can remember! I swore I’d be a Wonderbolt right after I left flight school, but now I’m almost twenty-three and I’m still just a weatherpony!”

“Well there’s certainly no need to rush things, darling.”

“Isn’t there? The Wonderbolts take only three new ponies every year, and each time they do the expectations from new recruits get higher. Looking around, all of my friends are already living their own dreams, and I’m still stuck teaching teenagers the difference between a raincloud and a thundercloud!”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that we’ve all met out dreams yet,” Rarity argued. “Why, I’m still a long way from living in the Canterlot Royal Palace with my dear, sweet Prince Charming.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you with Applejack?”

Rarity flicked her mane with a huff. “What, a mare in a relationship can’t still dream?”

“… Anyway, you might not be at the top of the ‘fashion world’, but you’re still getting your name out there to big-time ponies like Photo Flash and Who’s-it-Toity, and even that Prancypants guy.”

“Rainbow Dash, if I’m going to help you, I’ll have to ask that you stop making a mockery of the world I live in.”

“Even Pinkie Pie takes her dream seriously. She moved away from the family she loves so that she could be somewhere that’s easier to do… what she does. Fluttershy poured her savings into the land she built her cottage on, just so she could be near her animal friends, Applejack gave up good money for her apple bucking, and Trixie kept fighting on her own for a full year without giving up her travelling showmare gig.”

“Though that did lead to her almost being possessed by an evil ancient artefact and almost declaring war on Princess Celestia.”

“And then seeing Twilight today just made me wonder: how far am I gonna go for my dream? How much do I really care about being a Wonderbolt?”

Rarity paused for a second before leaning in and motioning for Rainbow Dash to continue. “Well? How much do you care?”

“Like I said, it’s been my dream for as long as I can remember. It still is.”

“But now there’s something in your way,” Rarity surmised.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “I only came to Ponyville to get a part-time job and work up some money after my dad cut me off. Bit of a… rebellious phase, back then. But the longer I stayed here, the more fun I had. Everypony welcomed me almost immediately, the mayor had been such a riot with town events, and I kinda liked hanging with my team when shifting the weather. If I take the fulltime course, I’m not gonna be able to come back to that for a full year! It might not seem like that long, but…”

Rarity waited until she was sure that Rainbow Dash was finished. After taking the last sip of her tea and lowering her cup, Rarity spoke up. “Well, one year away from your friends is certainly a long time. I can fully understand why you would be hesitant to go. But if I may just offer my own opinion on the matter? Your friends, Rainbow Dash, will always be here when you return. Your dream, on the other hoof, might not wait for you.”

Rainbow Dash remained silent as she simply stared down at the table beneath her.

“I’ll admit that I was fortunate enough to be able to start up my business in my hometown, so I cannot say that I know what you are going through. But whatever decision you make, you will have my – and all your friends’ – full support.”

Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head. “But what about-”

“Trixie?” Rarity asked. “Yes, that would be where the biggest problem seems to lie, now wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, I cannot help you there. You must decide for yourself just how important your dream is to you.” Rarity extended a hoof to hold Rainbow’s. “But before you decide anything, I must insist that you speak with Trixie, first.”

Rainbow Dash looked down at the white hoof touching her own, and then looked up at the face owning that white hoof and nodded. “Yeah… Of course you’re right…” A nervous smile spread across Rainbow Dash’s face. “Heh. It’s strange. I was kinda hopin’ you’d talk me out of it.”

“Sorry I couldn’t have been more help, then,” Rarity said with a grin. “Would you like another refreshment while you take a moment to think things through?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No thanks. I thought things through just now… and I need to go find Trixie. Thanks again, Rarity.”

“Not a problem,” Rarity said as she watched Rainbow Dash leave, hearing the sounds of her door opening and closing a few seconds later. “… That being said, if Applejack were to tell me she was going to leave for a full year, I know what my answer would be,” Rarity muttered to herself with a smile.

The Great and Powerful Trixie had felt like she had searched the entire country by the time she found herself outside of the town hall again, tired and out of breath. Rainbow Dash was known for napping on clouds so naturally she made sure to search high, too. Her rented balloon popped on a sharp weathervane and she had to drag the thing back to its owner and pay off the damage.

Rainbow Dash was also nowhere to be found on the ground, either, or at least not whenever Trixie had checked for her. Trixie wiped the sweat from her brow as she decided to take a break. “Think, Trixie… if you were a lazy featherbrain with your head in the clouds all the time, where would you be?”

“Right behind you.”

Trixie’s face fell as she turned around to see a less-than-impressed-looking Rainbow Dash floating above her with her forelegs folded. “… Trixie meant the other pegasus that she was looking for. Um… Rain… mo… Hash…”

“Uh-huh.” Rainbow Dash lowered to the ground in front of Trixie. “So, you were lookin’ for me?”

Trixie nodded her head slowly. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has something that she wishes to discuss.”

“Yeah, I kinda do, too… Y’see-”

“Hold it!” Trixie reached into her cloak and pulled out a long sheet of paper from within. “Before you say anything, Trixie has compiled a list of reasons why you may wish to reconsider dumping her. Number one, Trixie is great.”

“Wait, wha-”

“Number two, Trixie is powerful.”

“Trixie, what’re you-”

“Number three, Trixie can cook. Number four, Trixie is cute.”

“Trix, I’m not-”

“Number five! Trixie has a funny sense of humour!”

“Trixie, I’m not dumping you!”

Trixie threw her list to the ground and glared venomously at Rainbow Dash with tears in her eyes. “Fine, throw away the greatest thing that ever happened to you! See if I care! … Wait, you’re not?” Trixie turned around and took deep, heavy breaths. “Oh thank Celestia,” she muttered to herself, taking her time to compose herself before turning back to face Rainbow Dash again. “… Trixie knew that. You’re too smart to do something so dumb.”

“Right…” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. She then gave the showmare a worried look. “Why would you think I wanted to dump you?”

Trixie, her face red and sweating, shifted her gaze for a few seconds from left-to-right. “It was… merely a theory to explain why you had been acting so distant lately. Almost like you were losing interest in the Great and Powerful Trixie, as ridiculous as that seems.”

Rainbow Dash gave a depressed sigh as her ears fell. “Darn it. I’m so dumb.”

“No arguments here,” Trixie agreed. “Then, you’re not losing interest in Trixie?” Trixie was answered by a hoof coming down onto her head. “Ow! W-What was that all about?!”

“That’s for being as dumb as me!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Look, I’m not losing interest in you. If anything, I like you more than when we first started goin’ out!”

Trixie was taken aback by the sudden confession. “Uh, Dash?” The showmare motioned with her eyes to look around, and Rainbow Dash obeyed.

When the pegasus found that many eyes were looking at the two of them, her face exploded a furious red colour. “L-Let’s go!” she shouted as she took to the air, grabbing Trixie beneath her and moving her to someplace else. “Use your spell!”

“Which one?” Trixie asked.

“The cloud walkin’ one!”

“Oh. Already done.”

Rainbow Dash set herself and Trixie down onto a nearby cloud, checking first to make sure that they were indeed alone this time. Satisfied, Rainbow Dash decided to continue where she had left off. “Look, Trix, I’m… sorry if I’ve been actin’ kinda weird lately, I’ve just had some stuff on my mind…”

“Things more important that the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Rainbow Dash didn’t respond, but the look on her face told Trixie everything. “Oh, this is serious. Well then, why don’t you talk it over with Trixie who, in her infinite wisdom, will help you however she can!”

“That’s just it,” Rainbow Dash said. “I need to talk to you. You remember what I told you about the Wonderbolts courses, right?”

Trixie nodded. “Trixie remembers. What about it?”

“… I… I’m thinkin’ I wanna… move to the fulltime course.”

Trixie simply stared for a few seconds. “Oh,” was all that she said after the awkward silence had passed.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Is that it? You do know what that means, right?”

“Trixie understands what it means, but if that’s what you want to do…”

“It is,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s been my dream my whole life. I can’t let this chance slip by when I’m still young… I’ve gotta do this.”

“Then that’s all that there is to it.” Trixie leaned against Rainbow Dash, who reacted by wrapping a wing around the showmare, and closed her eyes. “Trixie will admit that a year without you sounds bad, especially after she had just started to get used to you.” Rainbow Dash gave a playful nudge at the comment. “But Trixie also knows what it is to pursue a dream at any cost… and also what it feels like to miss out on a dream.”

“Trixie…”

“That’s why… Trixie wants you to do whatever you feel is best.” Trixie felt her hoof shaking and she used her magic to lower the brim of her hat over her eyes. “Follow your dream. If you don’t because of me, I’ll just feel bad for the rest of my life…”

Rainbow Dash could only stare in wonder at the shaking mare leaning against her shoulder. She tightened her grasp around Trixie and leaned in closer with a smile on her face. “… Thanks,” she said in a soft, gentle tone. There was very little cloud coverage in the sky at that time, and the view of Ponyville from above, illuminated by the sun high in the sky, almost helped to steady Rainbow’s beating heart. “Hey, let’s stay like this for a bit, ‘kay?”

Trixie simply nodded her head, and the two sat there for a long time until the two of them fell asleep together.

“Alright, it has been one week now. You may remove your blindfold.”

Twilight reached her hooves behind her head and fiddled with the knot keeping the blindfold attached. To her left, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were waiting in anticipation for the results. “I can’t believe she honestly went a full week without sight,” Rarity said in an amazed tone.

“Ah can’t believe this wasn’t jus’ some trick that Trixie was pullin’,” Applejack returned.

The blindfold came off and Twilight opened her eyes. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Trixie nodded. “Then I shall repeat the same test as before. First, observe Trixie.”

“I will, just as soon as you turn off your illusion,” Twilight said with a confident grin, surprising her friends beside her.

“An illusion?” Rarity asked, turning to face Trixie.

“It sure looks real enough,” Applejack said.

“It did to me, too,” Twilight admitted. “And that’s why I failed. Because I couldn’t tell that Trixie was using an illusion. But this time…” Twilight turned to her right, where she could just make out a shimmering shape staring at her with an impressed look.

“Very good,” Trixie said as she disappeared, the shape taking her form moments later. “Though don’t get too cocky, Twilight Sparkle. The Great and Powerful Trixie was merely holding back for your sake. Had it been her full power, you never would have seen through it.”

“It didn’t look like Twilight was acting cocky,” Fluttershy whispered to her friends.

“Ah think she was jus’ trying ta protect her ego,” Applejack whispered back, earning a nod from Rarity.

“Now then, for your next lesson, we shall-”

“Hey guys!” Everypony looked up to find a rainbow trail hanging in the air. Upon looking down Twilight took a step back as Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared in a cloud of dust in front of her. “I’m back! What’d I miss?”

“Twilight passed Trixie’s test and is movin’ onto the next part of her trainin’,” Applejack summarised, tipping her hat and sending a smile to the pleased-looking alicorn.

“Way to go, Twi!” Rainbow Dash said as she offered the princess a hoofbump. “Though I knew you’d do it. You have a knack for magic, after all.”

“Well, I wouldn’t quite put it like that,” Twilight said, her face beginning to flush red as she rubbed her forehooves together. “Though I guess it’s an accurate statement, given my cutie mark… and my degrees in Magical Theory and Magical Practice from Celestia’s School…”

“Hey, bragging is Trixie’s department!” Trixie shouted as she approached the two mares, stopping as she turned to face Rainbow Dash and remaining silent for a few seconds. “… So?”

Rainbow Dash gave a nervous smile as she reached behind her head with a wing. “Uh, right… So, I talked to Spitfire- Uh, Captain Spitfire, and… I’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

Everypony but Trixie and Rainbow Dash gasped at once. “You’re leaving?” Twilight asked.

“For how long?” Applejack followed.

“A year,” Rainbow Dash said. “And I won’t be able to come back except for a few holidays.”

“A whole year without ya.” Applejack lifted her hat and scratched her head beneath it. “Ah dunno. It just don’t seem right…”

“But if it’s what she wants…” Fluttershy said.

Rarity nodded in agreement. “We can’t very well stop her if she has made up her mind.”

Twilight, however, didn’t look as sure. “But what if you fail? You’d have to redo the entire course again.”

Rainbow Dash returned Twilight’s concerns with a confident gaze. “That won’t be a problem, ‘cause I’m not gonna fail!”

“Well there you have it, then,” Trixie said as she approached her marefriend and leaned into her side. “The future Captain of the Wonderbolts. Get your autographs while you can!”

“Oooookay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves!” Rainbow Dash said. “Let’s at least wait ‘til I’m a Wonderbolt before we start talking ‘bout me bein’ a captain,” she added with a laugh.

“So if y’all are leavin’ tomorrow,” Applejack began, “What’re ya gonna do tonight?”

“… Well, I need to pack my things obviously, but I was gonna ask if you guys wanted ta hang out one last time first.”

Twilight smiled. “Of course we would. I’ll go find Spike and Pinkie-”

Everypony froze and Trixie looked around quizzically. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“… Somepony has ta tell Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said, and immediately everypony but Trixie touched a hoof to their nose.

“NOT IT!”

Trixie looked around even more confused, before simply shrugging and agreeing to the task of tracking down Pinkie Pie and telling her that one of her best friends forever was going to be gone for an entire year- “… Oh horseapples.”

After a long, schizophrenic party thrown by Pinkie Pie, in which the host would continue to flip-flop between excited, happy, betrayed and outright angry, the girls decided to call it a night so that Rainbow Dash could get a good night’s rest for her big day to come.

On their way back, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel that Trixie’s silence was speaking louder than the showmare had intended it to. She continually stole glances only to find Trixie quickly averting her gaze each time. “Hey, you’re okay with this, right?”

“What do you mean?” Trixie asked. “As Trixie had stated before, this is your dream to pursue.”

“Yeah, but you seem kinda… bothered by it…”

Trixie sighed. “Well, Trixie won’t deny that she is concerned about how the length of time that you’ll be away. This is the first relationship that I’ve ever been in. Trixie’s come to trust you so much that she’s even divulging secrets like this! A year is a long time. What if it messes things up?”

Rainbow Dash spread her wings and held a hoof to Trixie’s face, bringing their eyes to a meeting point as she gave a deep, reassuring gaze. “It won’t,” she said. “Trust me, it won’t change a thing. Not from my end, at least. We may only be able to talk through post, but I’ll be waitin’ for the day I graduate.” Rainbow Dash leaned in and kissed Trixie, pulling back after a few moments to ask, “Will you wait for me?”

Trixie, her breath now halted, could only nod slowly, as if placed under some spell. Her breath came back with a confident smile, before changing it to a dismissive harrumph. “The Great and Powerful Trixie had endured greater hardships than you can imagine before she ever met you. One measly year is nothing.”

“Riiiight. You can sleep just fine on your own,” Rainbow Dash said. “Or if you want, you can ask Scootaloo to lend you her stuffed Rainbow Dash toy,” she added with a snicker.

“You just worry about yourself,” Trixie retorted, her horn become alight with magic. Rainbow Dash jumped and gasped a moment later. “You sure you can survive on just your hooves for a full year? If Trixie finds you’ve cheated on her, you’ll wish you were in Tartarus.”

Rainbow Dash, her face fully red and panting quickly, grabbed Trixie’s shoulders. “Hey, we’ve got one last night before I leave. I think we should make the most of it.” Rainbow glanced over her shoulders to the large lake in the distance behind her. “Ever done it out in the moonlight?”

Trixie’s facial complexion mirrored Rainbow Dash’s tenfold. “Y-You can’t be serious…”

Rainbow Dash proved that she was by lifting Trixie off of the ground and fluttering towards the lake. “Yep.”

“W-W-What if somepony sees?”

“Don’t you like putting on free shows?”

“What if we get bitten by a snake?!”

“Wrong time of year.” Rainbow Dash lowered Trixie down to the ground beside the lake. “C’mon, let’s make this a night to remember,” she said as she bumped her muzzle against Trixie’s, planting a passionate kiss on the showmare’s lips that turned to quick, soft kisses down Trixie’s neck that caused her horn to spark.

“O-Oh my…”

“Well guys, I guess this is it,” Rainbow Dash said as her chariot came down for a landing by the lakeside. All of her friends and her marefriend had gathered to see her off. Rainbow Dash kept a brave face as she turned to face her friends, though it became increasingly more difficult when Pinkie Pie grabbed her by the collar band began to shake the pegasus back-and-forth.

“I CHANGED MY MIND! DON’T GO! I’LL BAKE YOU FOUR- NO, FIVE CAKES A DAY TO STAY WITH US FOREVER!”

Twilight’s magic dragged Pinkie Pie away from the startled Rainbow Dash. “We’ll be just fine,” Twilight said. “We’ll certainly miss you, but you have our full support.”

Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a small horseshoe-shaped pendant coated in six different colours – blue, pink, white, orange, yellow and purple. “Here. It ain’t much, but we all got together last night ta make this for ya after the party.”

Rainbow Dash lowered her head and allowed her friend to put it on. “Thanks. I’ll look after it while I’m up there.”

“This is just so weird,” Spike said. “Ponyville’s gonna be so quiet with you gone.”

“Ah, c’mon! Good ol’ Ponyville? Something exciting always happens here.” Rainbow Dash turned her attention to Scootaloo, who was kicking at the dirt with her head down. “You gonna be okay on your own?”

Scootaloo looked up with, surprisingly to Rainbow Dash, a smile. “Oh, it’ll be fine!” she said in a shaky tone. “I mean, it’s not like I’ll be alone alone. I’ve got Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle here!” Scootaloo fumbled with her hooves for a bit before reaching into her saddlebag and pulling out a small red hoofkerchief with the Cutie Mark Crusader emblem on it. “Here. Whenever things get tough, I always look at my cape and remind myself that a Cutie Mark Crusader never quits!”

Rainbow Dash took the hoofkerchief and returned it by roughing up Scootaloo’s mane, earning a giggle from the filly. “Wait a minute,” Rarity said, leaning in to examine the piece of fabric. “Where did you get the material for this?” she asked as she lifted it to find that the underside was golden.

Scootaloo gave a sheepish grin and moved behind Rainbow Dash. “Uh… I kinda asked Sweetie Belle if I could borrow some…”

Rarity frowned at the filly’s answer. “Of course you did,” she sighed. “… Well, I suppose I shall let it slide-”

“Phew.”

“-With you and Sweetie Belle cleaning the front of my store this afternoon.”

Scootaloo’s face fell and the crowd broke into cheerful laughter. Fluttershy noticed that Trixie seemed distracted by something behind and turned to look, only finding the empty lakeside stretching for quite a distance. “What are you looking at?”

Trixie jumped and her eyes shifted from the spot of shame that had drawn her attention the moment that she had arrived with Rainbow Dash at the lakeside that morning. “N-Nothing!” she said quickly and loudly, earning confused stares from all of her friends and a sly grin from Rainbow Dash.

“Rememberin’ last night already?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“S-SSSSHHHH!” Trixie hissed urgently, earning even more confused looks from her friends. “A-Anyway, shouldn’t you be on your way now?!”

Rainbow Dash looked back to the pegasi ‘patiently’ waiting for her to load her luggage and herself onto their chariot. “Yeah… I guess I’d better…”

Trixie approached Rainbow Dash and stopped just short of the other mare. The two stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments, before both glaring at the crowd watching them from the side.

“We’re not lookin’!” Applejack said quickly as she and the others turned around.

“… Well, guess I’ll see ya ‘round Hearts Warming,” Rainbow Dash said.

Trixie nodded. “Trixie will be sure to let you know how her show in Baltimare turns out in her first letter.” The showmare leaned in and the two shared a quick kiss that seemed to last a decade. As Rainbow Dash parted, Trixie could already feel her heart fluttering and the urge to stop her rising.

“RAINBOW DASH, DON’T LEAVE MEEEEEEE!” Pinkie Pie cried as she latched onto Rainbow Dash’s leg. “… I mean… good luck,” she said as she let go and wiped a tear away with a sniff. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too. All of you.” After seeing a few more tears shed from her friends, and feeling like her own waterworks were starting up, Rainbow Dash knew that it was time. She turned around quickly and hopped onto her waiting chariot. “Bye guys! Stay cool!”

“Goodbye Rainbow Dash!”

“Good luck, darling!”

“Stay safe!”

“Don’t forget to write!”

“Don’t forget us!”

“DON’T GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Pinkie Pie screamed as she jumped into the air in a futile attempt to grab the leaving chariot. Pinkie Pie quickly shook her head. “No! I have to be strong! This is Dash’s dream! … I MISS HERRRRRRRRRR!”

Twilight collected Pinkie Pie in her magic and faced Trixie. “Are you alright?”

“Hah!” Trixie laughed as she walked past Twilight. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is not as weak-hearted as the rest of you! She will be totally fine…”

“Oh, that’s good, then!” She looked around and exchanged knowing glances and nods with her friends. “By the way, the girls and I are having a slumber party tonight. You wanna join us?”

Trixie stopped and considered the offer. She took a moment to wipe her face before answering, “… Sure. That sounds nice.”

23 - Encroaching Storm (Part I)

Lyra Heartstrings stared into the eyes of her beloved as she watched Bon Bon fall onto the ground. She was hyperventilating as the cause of Bon Bon’s passing out – a pony wearing a brown cloak, their visage obscured by the shadow of their hood – neared towards the two frightened unicorns.

Vinyl Scratch stepped between the two, her legs shaking but her expression strong and stern as she confronted the assailant. “What’s your beef? We haven’t done anythin’ to you!”

The cloaked stranger didn’t stop. She only chuckled as she closed in on the two unicorns backed against a wall. She didn’t slow down even as Vinyl’s horn lit up and Lyra raised her forehooves into an offensive combat stance.

“If you must blame somepony, blame your precious Princess Celestia.”

A glow of green magic grabbed Vinyl Scratch by the waist and the DJ gasped as she felt all of the wind inside of her being forced out. Suddenly her limp body was lifted into the air and thrown precariously to the side, leaving the startled Lyra all on her own as a swirl of green magical energy surrounded her horn. Magic that wasn’t her own. The assailant grinned beneath their hood and gave just a little flick of her horn.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

Spitfire blew her whistle, making sure that the volume was loud enough to reach all ears and that the pitch was high enough to damage said ears. “That’s enough warming up for today! All cadets front and centre!”

Rainbow Dash huffed as she looked towards the flag just mere feet away from her. Had she been allowed just a little more time, she would have beat her previous record. “Next time,” she cautioned the flag, which responded merely by waving in the wind created as Rainbow Dash kicked off and flew towards her captain.

Her fellow cadets also assembled alongside her. It wasn’t a big class; only seven pegasi were currently on the fulltime course. As it turned out, all of them had a loved one back home waiting for them, and all were trying their best to keep the long-distance relationship alive.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she thought of Trixie, and what the showmare was doing at that time. According to her latest letter, Trixie should have been on her way to Manehatten at that time. Apparently Scootaloo was also going with her class on a school trip.

Thinking about her marefriend and her little sister having fun without her made Rainbow Dash feel a little lonely. The sinking feeling in her stomach was going to have to wait, though, as a sharp, ear-piercing screech was determined to keep such blissful thoughts out of her mind during training.

“Cadet! Were you listening to a word I just said?!” Spitfire asked, an angry expression on her face as she showed no restraint in invading Rainbow’s personal space.

Rainbow Dash stiffened immediately. “Apologies, Sir! My head was in the clouds again, Sir!”

Spitfire turned to the grey pegasus standing beside Rainbow Dash. “Cadet! Repeat my previous orders to Miss Dash!”

The pegasus saluted and said, “We are to run the next obstacle course blindfolded and using only the sound of the wind as our guide, Sir!”

“Correct!” Spitfire shouted as the pegasus grinned happily and wagged her tail. “There will be times where the weather conditions we face will make seeing extremely difficult, if not impossible! Even our goggles would do little good in such circumstances, and it is at those times that we must rely on our ears!”

“Sir!” a stallion further down the line called out as he raised a forehoof.

“What is it, Cadet?”

“If I may ask, Sir, why are Lieutenant Soarin and Lieutenant Fleetfoot standing to the sides with slingshots, gongs and buckets of water?”

“Because I don’t believe in starting slow!” Spitfire responded. “In extreme conditions there will be many things distracting you! The slingshots represent hail, the gongs represent loud noises, and the buckets of water will chill you to your bones! Even through all of this, a true Wonderbolt should be able to navigate their way through the harsh trials and reach their goal!”

“If I may ask another question, Sir, why can I not see any licensed medical personal, too?”

“Motivation!” Spitfire answered simply. “If you fail, it will hurt. So don’t fail!”

“Sir, yes, Sir!” everypony responded in unison as they stiffened up and saluted their captain.

Rainbow Dash looked up towards the obstacle course she was about to fly through and gulped. It didn’t look like much, but blindfolded and in extreme conditions? ‘Hey, this reminds me of when Twilight had to wear a blindfold for her training… Only hers was a lot less dangerous…’

“I’m kinda nervous,” the pegasus beside Rainbow Dash said, reaching a hoof behind her blonde mane and giggling as she rubbed the back of her head. “I have a daughter back home. I hope I don’t die.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. At least she wasn’t alone in how nervous she was feeling. “I still can’t believe you of all ponies also took this course. I had no idea you wanted to be a Wonderbolt, Derpy.”

The pegasus smiled and said, “Well the Royal Guard isn’t recruiting any couriers right now, and I’ve got a sturdy body, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve always wanted to visit the changeling and dragon lands and all that.”

“You two! Did I say that you could start talking amongst yourselves?!” Spitfire shouted, startling the two chatting pegasi. “Since you’re so eager, you can both go first!”

“Uh… together?” Rainbow Dash asked, receiving a nod in response. “But that’s crazy! If we’re both blindfolded we’ll just bump into each other!”

“Glad you get it. Now get moving before I have you both cleaning Soarin’s bathroom!”

Rainbow Dash and Derpy Hooves both jumped in fright and raced past Spitfire, grabbing their blindfolds along the way. Soarin simply sighed as he and Fleetfoot moved up towards the obstacle course to distract them. “Just because of that one night I had bad hay fries…”

Rainbow Dash was already wrapped in a towel, shivering as her water droplets dripped from her fur onto the cloud surface beneath her and wincing a bandages were applied over her bruised and cut areas by her captain, who apparently had no clue what the term ‘gentle’ meant.

“No kiddin’, I really thought I was gonna die…” Rainbow looked to her left to see the image of the angelic Trixie playing a harp slowly vanishing from her sight, telling Rainbow Dash that she got lucky that time.”

As Derpy Hooves finally joined her, the rest of the group was already shivering and clacking their teeth together as the dreaded gauntlet would soon be thrown their way.

“Well that wasn’t so bad,” Derpy said as Spitfire wrapped a towel around her and began to apply many bandages to the injured mare.

“Not that bad?! You’re more banged up than I am!”

Derpy examined herself and shrugged. “I think I don’t feel pain like most ponies do…”

Rainbow Dash sighed, before turning her eyes over to her comrades and a dark grin spread across her face. “Oh well. At least now it’s over, and we can watch others suffering instead.”

“I don’t wanna die!” one stallion cried as he sought refuge behind him friend.

“Quiet down, all of you!” Spitfire commanded, earning total silence in response. “Alright, next one up is-”

“Excuse me!” Spitfire turned around to find an unfamiliar mare standing behind her. She was short, and looked young, about the age of a teenager. She was dressed in the training attire of the Royal Guard – a green helmet and a pair of green shoulder pads – and she had a satchel to her side with the symbol Canterlot’s postal service. “I have, like, a letter for Captain Spitfire?”

“That would be me, but as you can see I am busy right now. Furthermore, it is against regulations for any unauthorised ponies to enter this training ground! Who let you in?”

“Oh, well, the letter is marked ‘urgent’ and stuff, so the guard let me in so I could give it to you…” The mare reached into her satchel and pulled out a red envelope. “Here it is. I think you might have won the lottery or something ‘cause, like, they said they want you to read it right away.”

Spitfire raised an eyebrow and lifted her sunglasses before tearing the envelope open, wondering what the contents could be. As she scanned the letter over she nodded silently to herself. “… I see. You are dismissed.”

“Oh, that can’t be right. I mean, I haven’t married yet, so I’m pretty sure I’m still a ‘Miss’. Unless you count that one time in LAs Pegasus with the guy in the tall hat, but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t a real minister.”

“It means you can go,” Spitfire said with an aggressive hoof stomp. “Now.”

The mare simple rolled her eyes and turned around. “No need to be rude. And you’re like, welcome for the letter.”

As the mare took off, Spitfire turned back to her cadets and sighed. “Okay, training’s cancelled.”

Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?!”

“Soarin, Fleetfoot and I have been called to duty! That means you all have the next three days off to use as you see fit!” Spitfire hesitated for a moment before adding, “If you’d like to visit your homes I will allow you to leave these grounds, but be back no later than midnight this Thursday! Dismissed!”

A gasp escaped Rainbow’s lips. “We can go home?” Spitfire nodded before flying off to meet up with her comrades. “… I can see everypony again.”

“I can see my daughter!” Derpy cried in joy as she tackled Rainbow Dash in an aggressive hug. “Dinkyyyyy! Mama’s comin’ hoooooome!”

Rainbow Dash watched Derpy fly away and smiled. “Aw yeah! I can surprise everypony by comin’ home early and then me and Trix can-” Rainbow Dash deflated as she recalled Trixie’s plans for the week. “… Well, Manehatten’s not too far. I guess I’ll just have to divvy up my time some.”

Picking herself up, Rainbow Dash flew as quickly as she could towards her dormitory to change out of her wet training suit and pack up some essential supplies… and to let out her girly squee somewhere a little more private.

‘Wonderful’… No, ‘spectacular’! Trixie wrote the word down into her letter in regards to her latest show as she lay down onto her stomach, kicking her legs behind her. Trixie put tapped the quill against her chin, wondering if three pages was too much… or perhaps too little.

“Hey!” Trixie turned to her trailer’s door to find the obnoxious orange filly she thought she had evaded already running towards her. “Is that your letter to Rainbow Dash?”

Trixie signed the bottom of the letter, kissed the empty space beneath and folded it away into an envelope. “No.”

Scootaloo gagged and then shook her head. “Hey, lemme write somethin’ to her!”

“Sorry. That was Trixie’s last piece of paper.” Scootaloo opened the drawer behind her, revealing a large stack of papers that exploded as soon as they were given the room that they were denied inside the cramped drawer. “… It’s rude to go through other ponies’ things.”

“C’mon! I wanna tell Dash how much my grades have gone up!”

“They haven’t,” Trixie said as she held a hoof out to keep Scootaloo at bay.

“They have! I got a whole two marks more last English test!”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Oh, well stop the presses then.”

“C’mooooooon!” Scootaloo pleaded. “I’ll tell her you’ve been neglecting me when she comes back!”

With a reluctant sigh, Trixie picked up one blank piece of paper and held a quill to it. “Fine. ‘Scootaloo’s grades have gone up by two marks’. Happy?”

“And tell her I saw a cloud that looked like her!”

“… ‘Cloud that resembled you’.”

“And I still think she’s really really awesome!” Trixie wrote some more onto her paper. “And-”

“That is plenty!” Trixie cut off as she placed the paper into the envelope. “Trixie shall send this off later today. Now you should go and rejoin the rest of your class.”

“Hey, how’s she been doin’ lately?”

“I’m sorry. Is today ‘Ignore Trixie Day’?”

“You’ve got her letters, right? Is she kickin’ butt up there?”

“Well of course she is,” Trixie answered matter-of-factly. “Apparently she’s at the top of the class, which isn’t at all all that surprising.”

Scootaloo nodded in agreement. “D’you think she’s found somepony better than you?”

Trixie’s eye twitched. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah, like, a pegasus who can fly as fast as her and is more pretty and-”

“Scootaloo,” Trixie interrupted in a sharp tone. “Could you… go to the local convenient store and buy Trixie some horn grease?”

“… Horn grease?” Scootaloo asked in a confused tone.

“That’s right. Unicorns need to grease their horns regularly, you know? It’s verrrrry important.” Trixie gave Scootaloo a small pouch of bits and ushered her out of the trailer. “Store’s just around the corner. Make sure you get the premium brand, okay? And buy yourself something too, ‘kay thanks.”

Trixie re-entered her trailer, leaving the confused little filly outside with the small bag of bits. With a shrug, Scootaloo headed down the street to find the local store.

Back inside her trailer, Trixie breathed a sigh of relief. “That should keep her busy for a bit. Stupid kid. Dashie’s not so foolish as to leave this behind,” Trixie declared as she approached her mirror and admired her figure in her reflection. “No matter how hot the pegasus may be-”

Trixie recalled something that made her fur stand on end. Spitfire was amongst the pegasi that Rainbow Dash would be spending a year with. After staring silently into her reflection for a few moments, Trixie looked down towards her stomach and gave it a light poke. “… Maybe a few visits to the gym couldn’t hurt…”

After writing up a quick note for Scootaloo and grabbing her bits, Trixie left her trailer and prepared to set out towards the gym. As she stepped outside, though, she found somepony approaching her.

“Excuse me,” the mysterious, cloaked pony called out to Trixie. “Would you happen to be Trixie Lulamoon?”

A pleasant summer’s day in Ponyville, with temperatures reaching thirty degrees Celestius – that’s three hundred and three degrees Calfin – and water in high demand to fight off dehydration brought on by the scorching heat wave hitting the town. It seemed like the perfect opportunity for Twilight and Spike to take a break and enjoy some refreshing, delicious ice-cream together.

And where in Ponyville can one find more refreshing, more delicious ice-cream than Sugarcube Corner? It seemed that Twilight’s idea was not original though, given how crowded the store was by the time the two had arrived. Tables were set up outside and the line of ponies had reached to outside of the store.

“Twilight!” Twilight’s ears picked up the sound of Applejack’s southern accent and she scanned the area for her friend. “Over here!”

She found Applejack and Rarity sitting together at one of the tables outside, enjoying a fine-looking strawberry milkshake together. Rarity waved to Twilight and Spike. “My, you two look like you’ll melt if you stay out in that heat any longer! Why don’t you come and join us in the shade?”

Twilight smiled at her friend’s kind gesture. “Thanks, but we still need to place our orders. Just because we’re friends of the Cakes’, we don’t want any special treatment from them. Right, Spike? … Spike?”

“Can you make sure they put extra rubies in my shake?” Spike asked from his seat opposite Applejack and Rarity, sighing in relief as he lay back in the coolness of the shade protecting his scales from the blazing sun. “And don’t get our orders mixed up! That’ll be real bad for your teeth.”

Twilight frowned but didn’t raise an objection. With a simple sigh she stayed in line and dedicated Spike’s order to her memory. After a good fifteen minutes, Twilight was finally at the front of the queue. She had given Cup Cake her order and paid the price, and in return received a flag with the number eleven on it.

She joined Applejack, Rarity and Spike at their table just as the three were laughing over something. “Hey guys. What’s the joke?” she asked as she sat down at the table and planted her flag down.

“Oh, uh, nothing, Twilight!” Spike said awfully quickly, smiling innocently at the now-suspicious mare.

“Spike was jus’ tellin’ us a few stories ‘bout yer trainin’ with Trixie,” Applejack said. Spike placed a finger to his lip and silently begged her to stay quiet.

“Oh was he now?” Twilight asked, looking down at Spike with those eyes that to him meant extra chores when they returned to the library.

“Like the time y’all thought you were runnin’ in a straight line an’ yer head wound up in a tree.”

“SSH!”

“Or the time ya walked around Ponyville wearin’ a bunny suit an’ didn’t even notice ‘til somepony said somethin three hours later.”

“Pleeeeease!” Spike begged, feeling the chores piling on by the second.

“Perhaps you should stop picking on the poor dear now, Applejack,” Rarity suggested, reaching over to pet Spike’s head, calming the dragon down somewhat.

“Ah can’t help it if ah’m too honest fer mah own good,” Applejack replied with a playful grin.

“Honestly. I swear you’re trying to fill in for Rainbow Dash sometimes.”

“Speaking of which,” Twilight began, “Trixie got a letter from Rainbow Dash before she left last night. It sounds like her training’s going well up there.” Twilight sighed. “Which is more than I can say for me.”

“Aw, you’ll get the hang of it, Twilight,” Applejack said. “Ye’re one of the smartest ponies ah know.”

“But illusions rely on ignoring what’s real and thinking outside of the norm. I’m not good at anything like that; I like thinking realistically! I mean, just look at the time I tried to understand Pinkie Pie.”

“You called?” Pinkie Pie asked as her upside-down face greeted Twilight.

Twilight yelped and almost fell backwards, but thankfully the pink mare behind her was acting as a backrest. “P-Pinkie Pie!”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out!” Pinkie Pie giggled as she removed Twilight’s flag and replaced it with two tubs of ice-cream, each with red additives – strawberries for Twilight, rubies for Spike – sprinkled on top. “Orrrrrder up!”

“Ooh, that looks good,” Twilight said as she licked her lips and levitated a spoon to scoop up some of the ice-cream in front of her, draw it closer towards her mouth, and-

Get interrupted by Spike belching flames into her face, revealing a scroll that dropped onto her spoon, knocking it to the floor, and then landed inside of her ice-cream.

Spike giggled sheepishly as he wiped the bit of ice-cream of Twilight’s cheek away with a claw. “Uh… pardon.” Spike then turned to his own ice-cream and dug in.

With a sigh, Twilight opened the scroll with her magic and read the contents quickly. “Huh?”

“What is it?” Rarity asked.

“It says that the princess wants me to meet her at the library right away, and that it’s urgent.”

“Urgent?” Applejack asked in a worried tone. “What d’ya think it could be? Discord rebelling?”

“Chrysalis making a counterattack?” Rarity suggested.

“Somepony escaped from Tartarus while Cerberus was away from his post for just a teeny-tiny bit and is now draining ponies’ magics and the only way to stop him is to find some new alternate Elements of Harmony because we gave them up?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Come on, Pinkie. Give the princess some credit. I’m sure she’d realise if somepony broke out of Tartarus before he could do any damage. Anyway, we’d better go.”

“Right behind you,” Spike said with his mouth full and his spoon still in his ice-cream.

Twilight’s magic grabbed the young dragon’s ear and pulled him out of his seat. “We have to go now. The princess said right away!” Twilight turned her attention to her friends. “Girls, sorry to ask, but could you-”

“Of course we’ll come, Twilight,” Rarity said.

“If it’s somethin’ urgent, ah bet the princess’ll be happy ta see us all there,” Applejack added.

Pinkie Pie removed her roller-skates and apron and tossed them to the side. “Mr. and Mrs. Cake! I’m going out to save the world with Twilight and the otherrrrrrrs!”

“Just be back by supper!” Cup Cake replied from inside the store. “And don’t let that Discord talk you into doing anything bad!”

“I woooooon’t!” Pinkie Pie happily skipped down the path leading away from Sugarcube Corner.

Twilight, Rarity and Applejack all exchanged strange glances before simply shrugging and following after the pink mare. “Whatever it is, I just hope we can do this with Rainbow Dash. We’ve always been a team.”

“As long as she’s still with us in here, we still will be a team,” Applejack said as she bumped a hoof against her chest, bringing a sure smile to Twilight’s lips.

After finding Fluttershy and bringing her to the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight and her friends waited silently for Princess Celestia to arrives. Several minutes had passed, but the princess still had not arrived.

“Could’ve easily finished my ice-cream before she got here,” Spike huffed as he kicked a book sitting before him.

Twilight sighed and picked up the book with her magic, looking for its proper place on her shelves. “We have ice-cream in the kitchen,” she reminded the dragon.

“… Don’t have any rubies, though,” he muttered.

Suddenly, the door opened. Everypony turned to the blinding light as the silhouette of a pony walked in with wings extended. Twilight and her friends bowed in preparation for the royal visit that they were about to receive.

“Hey guys! Miss me?” Twilight gasped and slowly raised her head. Standing before her was not the regal, majestic figure knock as Princess Celestia, but instead was… “Uh, why are you all bowing?”

“RAINBOW DASH!” Pinkie Pie cried in sheer delight as she tackled the pony to the ground and squeezed so hard that her eyes began to bulge out of their sockets.

“PIN… KIE… TOO… TIGHT…”

Twilight, Rarity and Applejack combined were required to pry the pink pony away and Fluttershy offered a hoof to help Rainbow Dash to her hooves. “I don’t understand,” she said as Rainbow dusted herself off. “I thought you said that you couldn’t come home except for holidays.”

“Yeah, well, somethin’ came up for the Wonderbolts so they gave us some time off. Only three days though.” Rainbow Dash looked around at all of the ponies gathered in the library. “Why is everypony here, anyway? You havin’ some kinda party without me?!”

“‘Course not,” Applejack said. “… Right now.”

“I received a letter from Princess Celestia,” Twilight explained. “It said that she wanted to meet me here. She also said that it was urgent, so I thought I should bring everypony along.”

“That is wise thinking,” a voice said from the doorway. Princess Celestia entered the library with two pegasus guards flanking her sides. Everypony bowed once more and she motioned for them to rise. “I wanted to speak to your friends separately, though. Well, I suppose there is no harm in talking to you all at once.”

“Princess Celestia, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked, concern showing on her face and in her voice. “Why did you want to see me suddenly?”

“Because there is a great threat currently in Equestria,” Celestia said. “… I expected more shocked reactions.”

“Eh. Kinda saw it comin’,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Is it Discord after all?” Applejack asked.

“Or Chrysalis?” Rarity ventured.

“Or a T-Rex?!” Pinkie Pie asked, smiling rather than looking worried.

Celestia shook her head. “I know not or who, or even what we are currently faced with, but I do know this: in the past week alone, seven ponies in Canterlot have been injured and taken to the hospital. Those ponies are: Fancypants, Upper Crust, Moondancer, Silver Wand, Glowbox, Ember Blaze and Prince Blueblood.”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Those names… There’s something about them…” Twilight gasped as it all came to her.

“That’s right. All seven of those ponies were students at my school.”

“What?!” Twilight’s friends all shouted in unison.

“Then that means that Twilight’s in danger!” Applejack said.

“We must do something at once!” Rarity declared.

“But how?” Fluttershy asked. “We don’t have the Elements anymore, so-”

“That is correct,” Celestia said, silencing the group and gaining their attentions. “That is why I did not call you to Canterlot, Twilight. Rather, I came here to warn you, and to ask you not to act recklessly or impulsively in this matter.”

Twilight’s ears flattened against the sides of her head. “Y-You want me to just… do nothing?”

Celestia nodded. “Precisely. Without the Elements, you have no means of fighting this new threat. Also, as a princess, if you were to be defeated, too, then I fear that panic may spread and morale may lower. That is why I must ask you to stay here and be cautious.” Celestia looked behind her shoulder to the two guards standing behind her. “Flint and Coal here will be your personal bodyguards.”

“Sir!” Flint shouted with a salute.

“We will defend you with our lives, Princess!” Coal added.

“But Twilight’s not exactly some ordinary everyday alicorn!” Rainbow Dash protested. “She’s got more magic than anypony I know!”

“Having magic, and being able to fight with magic are two very different things,” Celestia said. “Not only has Twilight received no formal training, she herself is too soft and gentle a pony to take on an opponent of this strength.”

“How strong we talkin’ here?” Applejack asked.

Celestia hesitated for a moment before answering. “Your brother, Shining Armor… He fell yesterday, engaging this foe in combat.”

Gasps filled the library. “S-Shining…” Twilight shook her head quickly, tears welling in her eyes. “N-No! It can’t be true!”

“Relax,” Celestia said, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder to calm the mare down. “His injury was light. He will be out of commission for a couple of days, but he is perfectly fine.”

“Your Majesty!” Princess Celestia turned around to see a third guard rush into the library, panting heavily as sweat ran down his face. He bowed quickly. “Princess, news from our team in Manehatten!”

“Manehatten?” Applejack asked. “Ah thought this was goin’ on in Canterlot.”

“The culprit moved to Manehatten three days ago,” Celestia said before turning back to her soldier. “Report.”

“Three more casualties! Miss Lyra Heartstrings, Miss Vinyl Scratch, and Miss Bon Bon!”

“… That third name does not sound familiar,” Celestia said as she put a hoof to her chin.

“She is an earth pony, ma’am. It seems that anypony trying to defend targeted individuals is also attacked and injured!”

Celestia narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “I have to put a stop to this… Tell the guards outside to prepare for our departure. I am going to Manehatten personally to put a stop to this.

A loud gasp caught everypony’s attention. All eyes turned to Rainbow Dash, who was shaking next to Twilight. “O-Oh my gosh…”

“What is it?” Applejack asked.

“Manehatten… Trixie is in Manehatten!”

“S-She’s right!” Rarity said. “Trixie is a graduate of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, too!”

“Oh my…” Fluttershy shuffled her hooves on the floor nervously. “I-I hope she’s okay…”

Rainbow Dash remained silent for few moments, before pushing past Celestia and her guards and taking off outside. “Rainbow Dash, wait!” Twilight cried as she followed the pegasus outside, but a sonic rainboom at such close range pushed her backwards. After that, Rainbow Dash was long gone.

“Darn it, that hot-headed filly!” Applejack said in an annoyed tone as she left the library. “We can’t let her go alone! We gotta go after her!”

“Please, wait!” Celestia pleaded. “It is too dangerous! Without the Elements of Harmony, you can’t-”

“Sorry, Princess,” Applejack said, “But ah can’t jus’ sit back an’ do nothin’ while a friend’s in trouble, let alone two friends!”

“I cannot sit idly by and simple watch, either,” Rarity declared as she exited the library. “I shall go, too!”

“Woohoo! Group trip to Manehatten!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she bounced outside. “Hmmm… I’ll have to cancel foalsitting for the Cakes tonight, but I’m sure they’ll understand!”

“Um… I’ll come, too,” Fluttershy said, putting on her bravest smile over her shivering form. “Rainbow Dash needs her friends there, so I’m coming, too.”

Twilight looked at all of her friends with her mouth agape, and then she smiled before turning to Princess Celestia with a determined look. “Princess, the truth is, we battled Nightmare Moon without any concrete proof that we’d even get the Elements. We can’t rely on artefacts like that to save us all the time, and this time, we don’t have a choice but to go and help our friend, Elements or no Elements!”

Celestia stared at her student in utter amazement. She saw the fire in her student’s eyes and she returned it with a gentle gaze. “… Flint, Coal, change of plans. You are to come with us to Manehatten and protect Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”

Twilight and her friends all cheered as they ran together to Celestia’s royal chariot… which seemed only big enough for half of the group.

“… It seems we’ll need a second chariot,” Twilight giggled as a shade of red crossed her face.

“Spike, I would like you to take the train to Canterlot and stay by my sister’s side,” Celestia told the baby dragon. “If anything happens to me, I would need a way to contact Luna immediately.”

“Got it! You can count on me!” Spike said with a salute. Celestia gave the dragon a small pouch and he hurried off towards the train station as quickly as his little legs would allow him to.

“If you are after the Great and Powerful Trixie’s autograph, then you will have to wait until the show tonight,” Trixie said in a dismissive tone as she ran a brush through her mane, ignoring the pony in favour of the mirror before her.

“Student number one three five eight zero at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, graduated with a major in Illusionary Magic and a minor in Theatrical Arts.”

Trixie stopped her brushing and slowly turned to the cloaked pony behind her. “Oh, you’re one of those. Well, Trixie doesn’t mind stalkers, so long as they keep at least three hundred feet away from her at all times.” Trixie gasped as she saw a bright-green beam of light heading her way and quickly conjured up a spell to teleport atop her trailer.

“You are one of the special few whose special talent is magic itself. You might be more entertaining than the rest.”

Trixie grinned as her horn lit up beneath her hat. “Entertaining others is what Trixie does best.” Trixie stood her ground as she unleashed a shockwave of magical energy towards her assailant.

The cloaked pony simply stood still as the magic passed right through her… and then she teleported behind Trixie and delivered a kick into the showmare’s spine.

Trixie gasped as she felt the pain surging throughout her body and found herself landing on the ground in front of her trailer. “H-How did you…”

“Illusions will have no effect on me,” the pony said as she jumped over Trixie’s fallen body and landed just before the showmare’s eyes, “For I have obtained powers beyond what this world can offer me.”

Putting all of her effort into standing up, Trixie glared at her opponent and backed away slowly as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. ‘That spell should have disorientated her senses, making it impossible for her to move properly. Illusions don’t work on her? Who am I dealing with here?’

“If you wish for somepony to blame, blame your precious Princess Celestia.”

Feeling the back of her trailer make contact with her rump, Trixie realised that she was backed against a wall as flames began to surround the cloaked pony. She fired a blast of magic, only for it to be nullified by the wall of fire. “Wow. An opponent worthy of Trixie’s time and effort?”

“From where I’m standing, it seems as though I am vastly superior to you.”

Trixie felt a vein pop in her head. “Oh yeah?” Trixie asked through gritted teeth. Using her magic, she reached into her trailer for anything that might help her out. A distraction so that she could catch her opponent off guard, a shield to defend herself with, a weapon to break through the cloaked pony’s defences… “Hm?”

“Don’t resist and this will hurt a lot less.” The flames gathered into one point in front of the cloaked figure and became a spear, the tip aimed towards Trixie.

“GET AWAY…” The spear disappeared and the pony gasped in surprise as suddenly something straddled her from behind, a pair of orange hooves covering her eyes quickly afterwards. “… FROM MY SISTER-IN-LAW!”

Trixie’s eyes widened. “Scootaloo?! G-Get away from her, it’s dangerous! … Also, I’m not your sister-in-law!”

Ignoring Trixie’s command, Scootaloo continued to obscure the attacking pony’s vision whilst stubbornly refusing to leave. With a disgruntled grunt, the pony used her magic to grab Scootaloo’s wing and pull her into the air, causing the pegasus a great deal of discomfort.

“Let go of her!” Trixie ordered as she teleported to the pony’s side, delivering a swift kick to her side and forcing her to release the filly. With Scootaloo secured, Trixie teleported a short distance away. “Now I’ve got you!” Trixie declared with a grin as she raised a crystal flute towards her mouth. ‘Can’t believe I’m about to use this thing, but…’ After taking a deep breath and finding the right note, Trixie channelled her magic through the flute and blew into it.

The pony simply stood there for a few seconds, unmoving… before taking a few steps forward. “I told you, you world’s magic has no effect on me.” The pony teleported before Trixie and, before the showmare could react, fired a beam of magic directly into Trixie’s horn. “You are a strong one. I wonder if you’re the one who became Celestia’s new pet?” The pony closed her eyes and focussed. “Oh? This ‘Dashie’ seems to mean a lot to you… You’d go so far as to risk your life for her? What a fool. I’ll make sure you realise what a mistake it is to trust in others.”

“TRIXIE!” Scootaloo kicked the cloaked pony’s foreleg, achieving no results in doing so. She tried a couple more times, even resorting to biting when Trixie’s body fell limp and collapsed to the floor. “Stop it! Let her go!”

“Do not interfere, little one,” the cloaked pony said as she picked up Scootaloo and prepared to throw her aside.

“IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII…” The pony turned around, curious as to the noise quickly approaching her. She found something blue about to make contact with her face… and then it did. “YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“WAH!” Scootaloo cried as she was flung into the air. Rather than hitting the hard ground below her though, she landed in the soft embrace of the pony she admired more than any other. “R-Rainbow Dash!”

“Yep! Here to save the day!” Rainbow said as she lowered Scootaloo down and ushered her to take cover. She found Trixie laying unconscious on the ground and shot the cloaked pony a glare. “I don’t know who you are, but you messed with the wrong pony’s marefriend!”

The glare was returned in equal ferocity. “How dare you… Kicking through my barrier as though it was nothing! You’d have to have achieved supersonic speed for a feat like that. And yet, I see no Wonderbolts uniform…”

“You’re looking at the future Wonderbolt captain, Rainbow Dash! I’ll make sure you remember it while I’m pummelling you into the ground!”

“Don’t be conceited! You got in one lucky hit, but do you honestly think that you stand a chance on your own?”

“Perhaps not. But then she’s not alone.”

Rainbow Dash looked to her side to find Princess Celestia approaching. Behind her, her friends were all rushing to the scene, too. “W-What? You guys… How’d you get here so fast?!”

“Chariots’re faster than ponies,” Applejack said matter-of-factly. “Duh.”

“You messed with the wrong friends!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she pointed to the cloaked pony. “Reveal yourself right now!”

The pony paid no heed to the pink pony’s demand. Her attention was focussed solely on the large, white alicorn staring sternly towards her. “So, you’ve finally come to deal with the situation yourself,” she said as she turned her body towards the princess. “It only took, what, ten casualties to draw you out? Princess Celestia, I wonder if you even remember me?”

Celestia’s eyes widened, as did Twilight’s. “I know that voice,” Twilight said in a shocked tone. “But that’s impossible.”

The cloaked pony reached up and pulled down her hood. “A new princess? It sure didn’t take long to find my replacement, huh?” With the hood down, everypony could see the face of the orange-coated unicorn with bright-green eyes and a flame-like red and yellow-striped mane.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Rarity cried in shock. “But she should be in that other world that Twilight told us about!”

“Other world?” Sunset Shimmer asked. “Ah, you must mean the afterlife. Unfortunately for you, I’ve come back to take my vengeance on the one who had betrayed me.”

“Did any of y’all get any of that?” Applejack asked.

“Sunset Shimmer, please stop this madness,” Celestia pleaded, taking a single step forward.

Sunset Shimmer took three steps backwards. “… Perhaps there are too many of you at this present time.” Sunset’s horn sparked and a wall of flames surrounded her. “I’ll be making a tactical withdrawal for now. You could follow me… but then somepony might get burned.”

Turning around and fleeing as quickly as she could, Sunset Shimmer unleashed her spell and redirected the flames both left and right. Celestia and Twilight both reacted quickly, teleporting to opposing sides and using their magic energies to stop the flames from spreading to any buildings.

By the time that all was clear, Sunset Shimmer was long gone. Rainbow Dash was about to take off after her, before she remember that there was something more important to take care of for the moment. Rushing to Trixie’s side, Rainbow Dash felt her marefriend’s head. There were no injuries, no signs of a fever… yet Trixie was fast asleep, and waking her proved extremely difficult. “What’s wrong with her?”

“It’s a spell,” Celestia said. “Sunset Shimmer must have shocked her system with a powerful spell. It will take an equally powerful spell to wake her. My guards will search the city for Sunset Shimmer. I need you six to escort Trixie to the nearest hospital.”

“Princess, I don’t understand,” Twilight said as she used her magic to lift Trixie into the air and then gently lower her onto Celestia’s back. “How is it possible for Sunset Shimmer to be here? The portal between our world and that other one shouldn’t open again for a very long time!”

“… That was indeed Sunset Shimmer that we encountered just now, and at the same time, it was not,” Celestia said, serving only to confuse her pupil even further. “Twilight, I know how sceptical you can be, but… I wonder if by any chance you believe in ghosts?”

24 - Saving Trixie and Protecting Celestia (Part II)

Trixie opened her eyes slowly. A bright light intruded into her vision, blinding her for a moment until her eyes could adjust, and a shape began to take form. It was a pony, looking down on her with a smile. It was Rainbow Dash.

“Are you okay?”

Trixie was confused. Where was she? Why was Rainbow Dash standing above her? Why could she hear nothing but the sound of Rainbow’s voice? Slowly, Trixie began to sit up, straining herself as she tried to get a look around the room. White walls, white floor, white ceiling… A hospital, perhaps?

“Thank Celestia. You were out for ages and I was startin’ ta get a little worried…”

Trixie turned to Rainbow Dash. Shouldn’t she be at the Wonderbolts Academy? No, before that, why were they together in a hospital room? Closing her eyes, Trixie tried to remember what had happened. A show in Ponyville… leaving for Manehatten… Scootaloo bothering her… The mysterious pony!

“I was attacked,” Trixie said as her memories began to clear up. “What… What happened after that?”

“It’s okay,” Rainbow Dash assured her. “Celestia took care of that pony and then moved you to the hospital. I heard about what happened and rushed over for ya.”

Trixie smiled. “You came all this way for me?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “… Thanks,” she said as she reached out and hugged the pegasus. “Trixie is glad that she has somepony like you by her side.”

“… What are you talking about?” A sharp pain passed through Trixie’s stomach. The showmare pulled back to find a blue, metallic wing piercing her abdomen. “Who said I’m here to support you? I just came to drop off this.”

Rainbow Dash dropped a letter onto Trixie’s bed. The letter contained only two words: ‘We’re through’.

“You didn’t think I’d wait around for a dead pony, did you? C’mon, get over yourself. You’re not that special.”

Trixie’s breathing increased as she grabbed the wing and pushed it forwards, attempting to remove it from herself. “W-What are you saying? You said that-”

“There are plenty of mares out there, and lots of unicorns, too. What makes you stand out?”

“‘What’? I’m the Great and Powerful Trixie, of course.”

“Yeah? Not very ‘great’ or ‘powerful’ when you’re not even conscious,” Rainbow said as she pushed Trixie onto her back. “Later, Trix. I’m off to find somepony who can stay awake long enough to please me.”

“W-Wait! Dash, don’t-” By the time that Trixie was sitting up again, she found herself sitting in a field of white. All around her, for as far as the eye could see, that’s all that there was. White. Nothing but white. “Where am I?” Trixie asked.

“Oh good. You’re awake.” Trixie gasped and turned around. She found Rainbow Dash standing behind her. “Thank Celestia. You were out for ages and I was startin’ ta get a little worried…”

Trixie tried to work out what was happening. Shouldn’t she be at the Wonderbolts Academy? No, before that, why were they together in this empty void. “Dash, I can’t remember anything. What happened? Where are we?”

As Trixie winced and groaned in her bed, shifting about and sweating profusely with Rainbow Dash at her bedside, Celestia gathered the rest of the small group together to discuss the current situation.

“Princess Celestia, about what you said earlier… are you trying to suggest that ghosts really exist?” Twilight asked, shocked at the sight of her tutor nodding. “That’s ridiculous! Er, not to question your knowledge or good judgement, Princess, but… ghosts? Really?”

“Not the type you would find in textbooks or movies, my pupil,” Princess Celestia clarified, “But there are indeed beings in this world that can be referred to as ‘ghosts’. Or rather, the correct term is ‘poltergeist’. That is what we are currently faced with at this moment.”

“Pardon, Princess,” Applejack began, “But… any chance y’all could rewind a bit an’ start at the beginnin’ there?”

Celestia nodded. “Of course, Applejack. As you probably already know, a ‘ghost’ is typically created when somepony dies, but their soul remains in limbo, rather than passing onto the next world.” Everypony in the room nodded, with the exception of Fluttershy who… wasn’t even there. “Where has Fluttershy gone to?”

Pinkie Pie hopped to the vacant bed on the other side of the room and lifted the covers draped over the side to reveal Fluttershy trembling beneath. “… Oh. Uh, d-don’t mind me. I’m just… making sure there’s enough room under this bed to hide…”

“… As I was saying,” Celestia said, deciding to simply get back on track, “That story actually comes from a real creature that feasts on the emotions of ponies whose souls have left this world. Before they can enter the next life, they must be free of all emotional attachments. Sometimes, however, a pony with such strong, usually when they feel they have died an unclean death, may overpower this creature and become what is known as a ‘poltergeist’. Whilst in this form, they resemble their living selves both in body and in mind, but the only emotions they can exhibit are the emotions they had upon their death.”

“But, Princess, Sunset Shimmer never died,” Twilight pointed out. “Don’t you remember how she stole my crown and I chased her into that other world?”

“That may be true, but recall my wording earlier: these creatures feast on the emotions of ponies whose souls have ‘left this world’. To them, that doesn’t necessarily mean death. When Sunset Shimmer left, her emotions remained behind and overpowered one of these creatures, creating the poltergeist that we saw outside. That would also explain why she is targeting students from my school.”

“Why is that?” Rarity asked.

“To put it simply, we didn’t leave on the best of terms,” Celestia explained. “She left this world on the very night I had expelled her as my personal student. The rage, bitterness and envy that she felt were still strong, as was her desire to hurt me as I hurt her.”

“Then why is she going after all these ponies who had nothing to do with what happened back then?” Pinkie Pie asked, deflating into a pout. “That just doesn’t seem fair!”

“Because she knows that it will hurt me,” Celestia said. “Sunset Shimmer was smart, and that poltergeist is every bit as smart as she was when she left. She knows that she cannot hurt me directly, so she’ll instead target all of my students, whom I care deeply for as though they were my very own children, and make it a point that they are suffering because of me.”

“That’s not true!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “This isn’t your fault!”

“That’s right!” Applejack agreed. “Ain’t yer fault that any of this is happenin’!”

“… Perhaps you are right, but at the same time, I cannot say,” Celestia replied. “Sunset Shimmer was a difficult case. She was every bit as thirsty for knowledge as Twilight is, but at the same time her desire to put that knowledge into practice sometimes got the best of her. She had potential. Potential to become Equestria’s next princess… or its greatest threat. It was that risk that led me to make the decision I made, but thinking back on it now, perhaps I was too hasty…”

“That’s great an’ all,” Rainbow Dash said, “But what about Trixie?! She hasn’t woke up yet and she keeps kickin’ around and her fever’s still rising!”

“Rainbow Dash, please,” Twilight pleaded.

“What’s wrong with her?! What did Sunset Shimmer do to her?!”

“From the looks of it, it is a spell designed to block off a certain part of Trixie’s mind,” Celestia said. “I’ve seen this type of magic before. It was used by Sombra to inhibit the section of ‘hope’ in the minds of the crystal ponies. In this case, though, the shock to Trixie’s system has knocked her into a comatose state. If she were conscious I could help her, but like this, I fear that any further shock might kill Trixie.”

“So what can we do then?!” Rainbow Dash asked, jumping out of her seat and grabbed Celestia’s necklace as she glared at the startled princess. “If you say ‘leave her’ I’ll-” Rainbow Dash gasped as she realised who she was threatening. Letting go and gently landing to the ground, Rainbow Dash muttered an apology and sat back down by Trixie’s side.

“… Trixie can be saved,” Celestia said, “But she will need your help in order to wake up, Rainbow Dash.”

“Rainbow Dash’s help?” Twilight asked. “How?”

“As I said, Sunset Shimmer’s spell has blocked off a certain emotion in Trixie’s mind. That emotion is love, and with it the ability to trust in others. In order to cancel out the spell without force, we will require somepony close to Trixie, somepony who shares a strong bond.”

“Somepony like her marefriend?” Rarity suggested, before gasping and adding in an excited, “Don’t tell me they’ll have to kiss!”

“N-No,” Celestia replied, earning a huff from Rarity. “I will use a spell to link their minds. Then, Rainbow Dash can enter the deepest part of Trixie’s subconscious and remind her of the love that you both share.”

“But Princess, melding minds is dangerous,” Twilight said. “The caster has to remain in meditation until the job is finished or else the minds will remain connected forever. If Sunset Shimmer attacks right now-”

“I understand the risks, Twilight,” Celestia said. “But the longer that we do nothing, the closer Trixie’s condition comes to being permanent. I am willing to take this risk if it means saving her, considering the responsibility is mine to begin with.” Celestia turned to Rainbow Dash. “However, as Twilight has just said, you will be at risk, too. Therefore, are you willing to-”

“Of course I am!” Rainbow Dash said immediately. “You think I’d just sit here and do nothing? Of course I’m goin’ in!”

“But Rainbow,” Twilight began, “If Celestia loses her focus before you’re done, you’ll be lost forever in Trixie’s mind! And if Trixie never wakes up…”

“… Then I’ll just have to get in there and save Trixie quickly, then!” Rainbow Dash said. “You just worry about casting that spell, Princess. I’ll save her!”

Celestia looked as Rainbow Dash grasped Trixie’s hoof and stared back with a determined, impatient look. As Trixie began to thrash about violently, Twilight and Rarity ran to her side quickly to see what was wrong. “Very well then, just as long as you are sure. Everypony, draw the curtains. Rainbow Dash, close your eyes and keep a firm hold of Trixie’s hoof.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and gripped Trixie’s hoof tightly with both forehooves. The room became dark as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy drew the curtains, but then became bright again as a powerful white light sparked from Celestia’s horn. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and felt herself falling asleep, just as a loud bang followed by many startled gasps filled her head.

Sunset Shimmer grinned as she watched two ponies drawing the curtains of the hospital room her former mentor was in. “Looks like she took the bait. As predictable of my old teacher.” Sunset stepped forward off of the rooftop she was standing on and channelled her magic, walking forward across the air before her.

“Stop right there!” Sunset did indeed stop as three ponies surrounded her. An bright yellow mare with an orange mane, a white stallion with a dark-blue mane and a light-blue mare with a white mane. All three were wearing the standard Wonderbolts uniform that Sunset remembered. “You’re under arrest for several accounts of assault with brutal force!” the yellow one shouted.

Sunset narrowed her eyes. “You really think that a trio of hack showponies can stop Equestria’s rightful heir to the throne?”

“Surrender now and we’ll take it easy on you,” the stallion said.

“In case you can’t tell, you’re outnumbered,” the light-blue mare pointed out, bringing a devious grin to Sunset’s face.

“Outnumbered… but never outmatched.” Sunset’s horn sparked to life and, before anypony knew what was happening, the light-blue mare was knocked out of the sky by an explosion behind her.

Rainbow Dash wondered where she was. When she last closed her eyes, she was inside of a hospital room in Manehatten. When she had opened them again, she was under a starry night sky, with the cool night wind blowing through her mane and across her coat, in the middle of a wide, empty courtyard… and before a large castle, seemingly made out of diamonds or crystal or something of the sort. Rainbow Dash was no expert, but it looked like something Spike would eat and that Rarity would swoon over.

“Hey, Princess Celestia?!” Rainbow Dash called out, receiving no response other than her own echo. “Princeeeeeeess! … Twilight?! Applejack?! Anypony?!” There was no response. “Where am I?”

During her walk towards the castle, Rainbow Dash noticed that there was nopony around. There were gardens, benches, market stalls and the sort, but nopony tending to any of them. There were also no clouds in the sky, nor even a moon!

The first sign of life finally presented itself when Rainbow Dash arrived at the entrance to the castle. Standing at the doorway, clad in dark, steel armour and brandishing a spear, was the mare that Rainbow Dash wanted to see most of all. “Trixie!”

Trixie glanced up at the charging pegasus and pointed her spear forward to halt Rainbow’s advances. “Stay back! This castle is closed to all outsiders! None may enter!”

“Turn around now! You are not welcome here!”

Rainbow Dash stopped and noticed the second Trixie standing beside the first. “What the? Two Trixies? Normal I’d find that awesome, buuuut…” Both Trixies stepped forward, each one driving their spears just a little closer to Rainbow Dash, who backed away with a gulp. “H-Hey now, c’mon. It’s me!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not recognise you!” the first Trixie said.

“Even if we did, we would never let you in!” the second one followed.

Rainbow Dash looked between the two for a moment. “What’re ya saying? It’s me, Rainbow Dash! Your marefriend? Love of your life? … We write letters to each other every day?”

“Love?” the first Trixie asked. “The Great and Powerful Trixie would not allow herself to feel such an emotion!”

“Love is the path of ultimate destruction! Trust is poison that would kill us!” the second Trixie said. “Now leave this place! The Great and Powerful could not, and would not love you!”

“Now hang on just a second!” Rainbow Dash shouted, startling the two Trixies and causing them to tighten their grips on their spears. “I came all the way here to save you! I don’t know where ‘here’ is, but I’m not leavin’ here without you! Know why? ‘Cause I…” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, blushing, and added, “‘CAUSE I LOVE YOU!”

The two Trixies simply stared back with widened eyes. “But Trixie does not-”

“No! Don’t you say it, ‘cause I know that isn’t true!” Rainbow Dash said. “Trix and I have been together for months and I know she wouldn’t just forget all we’ve been through together! Like the time where we went to Appleoosa to watch the buffalo stampede, and Trixie accidentally started off a pie-throwing war!” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but grin at the memory of that event. “And then when it was over she went and took a long bath. I offered to lick it off and she got so embarrassed-”

“Well of course I did! There were other ponies there, idiot!” The first Trixie clamped a hoof over her mouth, realising what she had just said. “W-Wait… I remember that… But how? How could I have forgotten?”

“What are you talking about?” the second Trixie asked. “This must be some trick! The Great and Powerful Trixie would never fall in love!”

Rainbow Dash looked at the first Trixie, trying to figure out in her mind what was happening. ‘Hold on, what was it Princess Celestia said before? ‘Remind her of the love we share’?’ Rainbow Dash turned to the second Trixie, who was now glaring venom into the pegasus’ eyes. “… Hey.”

“What?” the second Trixie spat.

“Remember that time… we were in Las Pegasus together? We toured the city in the air at night, and you were all panicked I might drop you-”

“Who wouldn’t be?! You were flying way too fast and manoeuvring like a drunk pony!” the second Trixie gasped. “Wait… I remember that night… The beautiful view from high-up, the candlelight dinner, the casino, the hotel…”

“We were in love,” the first Trixie said.

“Trixie loves you,” the second one followed.

A silence passed between the three, before the Trixies both backed up and stepped to either side of the large doorway. “Uh… does this mean I can go in?” Rainbow Dash asked.

The two Trixies nodded. “Trixie only lets in those that she trusts!” the first Trixie said.

“And the Great and Powerful Trixie trusts you, Rainbow Dash!” the second Trixie added. “You may enter!”

Rainbow Dash nodded and then slowly stepped forward, entering cautiously into the large castle. “The real Trixie’s gotta be in there… and I’m gonna save her!”

“Good luck.”

“Trixie will be here if you need her.”

Rainbow Dash felt two soft pairs of lips, on one either side of her face, and her wings flared out. The two Trixies backed away and turned their gazes out into the distance, leaving the pegasus to her own devices.

With a nod, Rainbow Dash charged inside. She was going to find Trixie and save her, no matter what.

As Soarin and Spitfire continued to fly circles around Sunset Shimmer, confusing the poltergeist and creating openings to attack from, Twilight Sparkle and her friends watched from behind their hospital room’s curtain with great anxiety.

“Maybe we should move ‘em someplace safe?” Applejack suggested as she pulled back and glanced over to her friends and the princess beside her.

“The doctors said that moving Trixie right now would be risky,” Twilight said, “And besides that, do you even know how much the princess weighs?” Twilight immediately clasped her hooves over her mouth, but then breathed a relieved sigh when she recalled that Princess Celestia was in deep meditation. “Anyway, all we can do for now is wait and prepare ourselves.”

“Prepare? For what?” Rarity asked.

“If the Wonderbolts are defeated, then we have to defend the princess until she’s finished with her spell. Right now she’s unable to fight back!”

Twilight’s friend exchanged uneasy gazes. “But Twilight, how in Equestria do you expect us to fend off somepony capable of defeating your brother and the Wonderbolts?”

“We don’t exactly have the Elements anymore, so we got no advantage there,” Applejack pointed out.

“I can only break the laws of nature for comic effect,” Pinkie Pie reported.

Twilight gasped as an idea came to her. “Discord! Of course, why didn’t I think of it sooner?”

“… Beause it’s Discord?” Applejack suggested. “Even if we could get a hold of him, what makes ya think he’d help?”

“Besides that, the last thing we want right now is for Discord to know that Celestia is completely vulnerable,” Rarity said.

Twilight put a hoof to her chin and conceded. “I guess you’re right. But we have to think of something. My magic alone might not be enough to hold her back for long.”

“Well ya’d better think fast, Twilight, ‘cause Spitfire’s jus’ gone down!” Applejack said, drawing everypony’s attentions back to the window, where Spitfire had indeed fallen to the street below beside Fleetfoot. Soarin was still circling his target in the air and avoiding magical attacks whilst swooping in to deliver his own physical ones.

Suddenly, the door slammed open behind everypony, startling them and almost making Twilight’s heart jump out of her chest. As everypony turned around, they found a large, feathered figure standing at the doorway with a sharp glare and dagger-like claws raised threateningly.

“Stop. That. Racket.”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Uh…”

The feathered fiend stepped forward. “Stop. That. RACKET!”

“Gilda!” A yellow blur zipped across the room and tackled the large griffon.

Gilda tried to stay on her feet and pushed Fluttershy away. “Hey, hey! Hooves off the feathers!” she said before backing away and casting the yellow pegasus a glare. “Wait, don’t tell me you’re the one who was making that noise?!”

Fluttershy giggled sheepishly as she revealed a small whistle with an eagle’s head at the tip. “S-Sorry, but you said that if I ever needed anything I could call for you, so-”

“W-What are you talking about?!” Gilda shouted as she clamped a claw over Fluttershy’s mouth whilst flustering. “Idiot! I didn’t say anything like-” Gilda gasped as she noticed the pony laying on her back in the hospital bed, the pegasus sat beside her with her eyes closed and a white aura surrounding her body… and Princess Celestia in deep medication beside them. “What’s goin’ on in here?”

“It’s just awful!” Fluttershy said. “Trixie’s unconscious because of a spell and Rainbow Dash and Princess Celestia are doing everything they can to save her, but the pony outside – Sunset Shimmer – is on her way to stop them and-”

Gilda silenced Fluttershy by flicking her forehead, causing the pegasus to flinch and back away as she rubbed her forehead with a confused look on her face. “Look, I didn’t ask for your life story. Just give me the gist of it.”

Twilight stepped forward and offered a more abridged explanation of the situation at hoof. When Gilda got lost by the many big words she had never heard before, Rarity tried. When Gilda couldn’t stop gagging at the romantic spin the mare put on the story, Pinkie Pie tried. When the pictures the pink mare drew only served to confuse the griffon more, Applejack decided to lay it on as simply as possible.

“Trixie’s out, Dash’s helpin’ her, that pony outside’s comin’ ta stop her.”

“Right, got it,” Gilda said. “And… what d’you want me to do?”

“Isn’t Rainbow Dash your friend?” Rarity asked. “I mean, I know that the last time you met you left on bad terms, but-”

“Eh, we got over that,” Gilda said dismissively. “But I don’t know a thing about magic.”

“You don’t have to,” Twilight said. “With your speed and agility, you might just be able to distract Sunset Shimmer long enough for Rainbow Dash to finish her job!”

“But the Wonderbolts themselves were no match for Sunset,” Applejack said.

“True, but Gilda’s a griffon. There’s the possibility that Sunset Shimmer has never seen a griffon in action before, and if she’s anything like me, that’ll throw her off!”

“An’ if she’s not?” Applejack asked.

“It can’t be any worse than the situation we’re in now.”

“I think I can hold my own out there,” Gilda said as she peered out of the window and watched as Soarin managed to circle around Sunset one final time before being caught by her spell. “But I won’t be able to hit and dodge her. Her reflexes are too good… I got a plan, though.” Gilda turned to the group behind her and grinned. “Wanna try it?”

Sunset Shimmer threw the downed Soarin to the ground beside his two teammates. “Now then, your princess is next.” Sunset turned to face the hospital, only to find something large moving quickly towards her. She teleported out of the way and looked to find a griffon hovering in the air, flexing her claws as she grinned back at the poltergeist.

“Not bad, takin’ out those Wonderbolts. But now let’s see how you deal with a griffon.”

“You’re not even Equestrian. Why are you trying to get in my way.”

Gilda bolted towards Sunset Shimmer with her claw outstretched, stopping and dodging t the side as a blast of magic was hurtled her way. “You just look like you might be fun to fight with!”

Sunset fired spell after spell, keeping the griffon at a distance yet finding herself unable to land a hit on her. ‘Her movements are smoother than those Wonderbolts, but she clearly put no thought into this. I’ll have to tire her out and then take her out with one-’ Sunset felt something behind her and turned around quickly.

Nothing… There was nothing in the air behind her, nor on the ground, save for the three fallen bodies of the Wonderbolts from earlier. “Gotcha!”

Sunset quickly snapped backed to the griffon moving towards her and unleashed a shockwave of magic, pushing her back with some force but not hitting hard enough to knock her out of the sky.

Again, something seemed to hit the poltergeist’s back. She turned around only to find once more that there was nothing there. Turning back to Gilda, Sunset Shimmer fired a few more spells to keep the griffon at bay, before closing her eyes and focussing.

“… There!” Sunset turned around and saw it. Laying on the floor, where the yellow Wonderbolt from before used to be, was indeed a yellow pegasus mare wearing a Wonderbolts uniform… but this one was conscious, had a pink mane, and was aiming a slingshot up at Sunset Shimmer. “I see you there. You little pest!”

Fluttershy yelped as Sunset Shimmer charged towards her with her horn flaring. She quickly scrambled her hooves and moved to run away, but the poltergeist casted a teleportation spell to cut off her only path of escape.

A sharp pain passed over Sunset’s back and Fluttershy backed up as the startled poltergeist fell forward onto the floor, blood seeping out of the open claw wound on her back. Gilda landed behind the downed mare with a victorious grin. “Gotcha. For real, this time.”

“It worked!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she danced in her cheerleader’s outfit, watching the battle from the safety of the hospital room’s window with her friends. “Goooo team GildaShy!”

“I do wish she had picked a less barbaric solution to all of this,” Rarity said as she backed away from the window, feeling faint at the sight of blood outside. She turned her attention o Spitfire, laying unconscious on her back in the second bed in the room. “I can’t believe dear Fluttershy agreed to all of this.”

“Gotta admit, it was a smart plan,” Applejack said. “Annoyin’ Sunset ta make her drop her guard an’ then attackin’… ah’ll bet this kinda thing worked all the time on her and Dash.”

“It’s a good thing that it worked,” Twilight said. “At this rate, they might just be able to keep her distracted for long enough!”

“Hold on,” Applejack said, narrowing her eyes as she caught movement outside. “Ah think somethin’s happenin’…”

Gilda looked on in shock as her opponent slowly rose to her hooves. The wound on her back had stopped bleeding, and a green glow began to patch it up in an instant. Her breathing was steady, though when she turned around her face showed complete and utter rage.

“W-What gives? That should’ve taken you out!”

Sunset did not answer Gilda’s question. She merely used her magic to grab the griffon before she had the chance to fly away and slammed her into the ground. “You… You have the nerve to lay your filthy griffon claws on me?! I’ll show you no mercy!”

Gilda opened her eyes, only to find herself once again in the air, before being slammed back down into the ground. The process repeated itself two more times, before a voice cried out, “STOOOOP!”

Sunset Shimmer turned around to find the yellow pegasus from before standing face-to-face with her. The other mare was trembling, her eyes were wide with fright, and she was breathing unsteadily. But there was a strong gaze in hers eyes.

“S-Stop that, right now! Or else I’ll… I’ll…”

Sunset’s magic spread to Fluttershy, picking the timid pegasus up into the air along with Gilda, and she slammed them both into the ground at the same time and with much force, drawing cries of pain from both of them.

“That’s enough!” Despite being annoyed at the constant interruptions, Sunset Shimmer dignified this new voice by turning to its source. It was the purple alicorn from earlier, glaring at the poltergeist with powerful magic sparking along her horn. “I won’t stand by and watch you torment my friends anymore! Let them go, now!”

“… Celestia’s newest pet? Heh. You must not be all that strong if she was able to control you that well.” Sunset Shimmer released her magic, dropping both Gilda and Fluttershy down onto the ground. Twilight twitched as the poltergeist took a step towards her. “I’m curious. I want to see just what my former mentor replaced me with…”

Twilight gritted her teeth together as she looked over to her two friends lying on the ground. ‘I have to keep her busy until Princess Celestia and Rainbow Dash are finished! More than that, I can’t let Gilda and Fluttershy’s efforts go to waste…’ “Alright then, Sunset Shimmer, but at least let me move my friends inside!”

To Twilight’s relief, Sunset Shimmer merely shrugged and honoured Twilight’s request by standing perfectly still as the young alicorn carried Gilda and Fluttershy inside with her magic. “Alright,” Twilight said. “If it’s a magic duel you want, then it’s a magic duel you’ll get!”

“Remember the time we visited my dad and he gave us his blessing! Remember the first night we slept together and you told me all about how you felt that past year! Remember when you had that nightmare and I helped you forget about it!”

As Rainbow Dash stomped through the large hallway of the castle, Trixies left and right were stepping aside for her upon being reminded of the fun times they had shared together in the past. Rainbow Dash stopped as she reached a large door, stretching up higher than her eyes could see. A chain kept the door locked.

“Trixie! I know you’re in there! Let me in, now!” No response came from the other side. Rainbow Dash groaned. She was getting impatient now. “Look, I’m not mad! I just wanna talk! You can trust me, right?”

A moment passed… and the chain loosened and fell to the floor. The doors creaked open, revealing and intense, bright light on the other side. Rainbow Dash stepped in, not knowing what to expect, but still knowing that no matter what, she would save Trixie.

25 - Ghost Busting! (Part III)

Everywhere that Rainbow Dash looked throughout the dark castle appeared to be the same. Locked doors, reflective, crystalline walls, and many Trixies all looking at Rainbow Dash with mixed expressions of confusion, fear, and even anger.

Occasionally, Rainbow Dash would be attacked or her path would be hindered by these Trixies. She had noticed that whilst they all fundamentally appeared to be the same, there were certain differences between them, some subtle, some not-so-subtle. For example, there were a few Trixies that were far more aggressive and vulgar than their counterparts, and then there were those that were terrified and hid behind their friends’ legs. There were also those that were just a little braver than the average Trixie, and some that were a little more wise.

Rainbow Dash learned the secret to getting by these Trixies fairly quickly. She had to remind them of who she was, and what she meant to the real Trixie. It seemed that just one memory each was enough to do it.

“And then remember how we stopped that hurricane together? Your magic and my flying. We were like an unstoppable force!”

The Trixie blocking Rainbow’s path dropped her spear as she gasped. “T-That’s right! I remember! Oh, Rainbow Dash, how could I have ever forgot?!”

Rainbow Dash smiled. This wasn’t as bad as it was the first few times, but she was starting to worry that she might run out of memories to share eventually. “Hey, d’you think you could show me around this place?”

The Trixie shook her head. “All of us have our places to be. We cannot leave them.”

“Well, you think you could point me in the right direction? I’m trying to find Trixie.”

“Trixie is standing right before you.”

Rainbow shook her head. “No, I mean the real Trixie.”

The Trixie tilted her head. “Trixie doesn’t follow.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Never mind. I’ll just look around on my own.”

“Sure thing. You’re more than welcome in Trixie’s mind.” The Trixie stepped aside with a smile to let Rainbow Dash pass.

The trek through the castle continued. Rainbow Dash continued to spread her memories with Trixie amongst the many Trixies that she encountered and noticed that, each time she did so, the walls around her would brighten up ever-so-slightly.

Eventually, Rainbow Dash came to a large, chained-up door. There was an odd feeling coming from behind the door, as well as a purple light resembling Trixie’s magical aura seeping through the cracks. Rainbow Dash couldn’t see what was behind the door, but her gut was telling her what she needed to know. Trixie was there.

“Trixie! I know you’re in there! Let me in, now!” No response came and Rainbow Dash groaned. “Look, I’m not mad! I just wanna talk! You can trust me, right?” ‘Great. ‘Cause naggin’ always works great.’

To Rainbow’s surprise, that actually seemed to work as the chains fell off of the door, allowing it to open for the pegasus. She was greeted to an bright, warm light. She knew that Trixie was in there; she could feel it. Lifting a forehoof, Rainbow Dash stepped into the light.

Twilight Sparkle stood face-to-face with Sunset Shimmer in front of the Manehatten Central Hospital, a cold wind wisping by as ponies peeked out of their windows into the street.

Rarity gulped. “T-Twilight…”

“She’ll be fine!” Pinkie Pie assured her friends. “This’s Twilight we’re talking about! Remember how she beat Sunset Shimmer last time?”

“But she had the Element of Magic back then,” Rarity pointed out.

“Okay, but remember how she beat Trixie with the Alicorn Amulet?”

“Ah don’t think a trick is gonna work on this one,” Applejack said. “She seems more together than Trixie did. ‘Sides, we all had ta help back then.”

“… Well, remember when Cerberus-”

“Fluttershy handled that one,” Rarity said bluntly.

“… TWILIGHT! GET OUTTA THERE!”

Applejack looked around the hospital room. “Hey, where’re those two guards?”

Rarity also took a glance around the room. “You mean Flint and Coal?”

“Yeah. Ah coulda sworn they were here jus’ a second ago.”

“Princess!” Twilight blinked as two pairs of hind legs stepped out before her, their owner standing at the ready with their spears pointed towards Sunset Shimmer. One of the pegasus guards looked over his shoulder at the confused alicorn with a reassuring grin. “Please stand back! We’ll handle this!”

“W-Wha?” Twilight asked in a startled tone.

“It is our job to protect you, Your Highness,” Flint said.

“Do not fear! We are highly trained for just this sort of event!” Coal added.

“G-Guys-”

“You needn’t worry!” Flint turned back to Sunset Shimmer, narrowing his eyes as he took a deep breath. “We do not fear death.”

“That’s very noble, but-”

“I know you want to help, but please, leave it to the professionals,” Coal said. “You have magical expertise, so if you be our brains, we’ll be your brawn.”

“You’re floating.”

Flint and Coal looked down to find that they had indeed been lifted off of the ground in a bright, green glow. “W-When did this happen?”

“You two are just in the way,” Sunset said as she flicked her head to the side, throwing the two guards into the building on the other side of the street. The two simply lay in a heap on the ground, dazed and disorientated until they finally passed out. “The one that I’m interested in is Celestia’s dog.”

“I’m not a dog,” Twilight protested as she cast a glare at the poltergeist. “I’m an obedient student. That’s why Celestia didn’t expel me.”

“‘Obedient’ is just another way of saying that you’re her willing slave. Well, I suppose that is one way to earn power, but only under her control.” Sunset’s horn lit up and several small flames ignited around her, startling her opponent before taking a step forward.

“I trust the princess! I don’t question her judgement and she always pulls through for us!” Twilight pushed herself into the air as she spotted two flames being thrown her way, using the blast to propel herself forward and wrapping her forehooves in magic as she closed in on Sunset Shimmer.

“I trusted the princess once, too,” Sunset said as she teleported to the side. Twilight turned in the air and attempted to strike again. “I realised what a mistake that was, though. In a world where everypony looks out for themselves first, those with power cannot trust anyone. Least of all those above them.”

Twilight felt herself slowing down and gasped as she recognised the spell from Sunset Shimmer pushing against her. She pulled herself up, flying high into the air and breaking out of Sunset’s spell. Hovering in the air, Twilight looked down at the poltergeist beneath her. “I know that the princess would never have expelled you unless she felt you weren’t using your power responsibly!”

Sunset Shimmer gritted her teeth together and fired a shockwave into the air, forcing Twilight’s wings to close and sending the alicorn plummeting towards the ground screaming. Twilight’s horn sparked as she clenched her eyes shut and she disappeared moments before she hit the concrete road beneath her.

“You understand nothing!” Sunset Shimmer yelled. “Princess Celestia expelled me because she feared me! She denied me my rightful place as a Princess of Equestria because she feared I might overtake her! But she was a fool to think that would be enough to stop me!”

Twilight Sparkle reappeared behind Sunset Shimmer and fired a sedation spell towards the back of her neck. Sunset’s barrier deflected it and Twilight had to duck to avoid being.

“Well!” Sunset yelled as she turned around and delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of Twilight’s head, knocking the princess to the ground. “If she wants to make an enemy out of me, then so be it!” Sunset lifted Twilight’s limp body up and slammed it down into the ground. “I will become a princess, whether it’s with wings or not! Whether it’s by Celestia’s side…” Sunset held a forehoof up and cast a spell, casting a fire around it as she thrust it forward into Twilight’s stomach, “… Or over her dead body.”

“You’ll have to walk over my dead body, first!”

Sunset Shimmer dropped Twilight’s body and fell forward as she felt a sharp jolt passing through her system, her magic disappearing and her hooves twitching. Using all of her might, Sunset managed to turned her head to see behind herself. Twilight Sparkle stood there, her horn glowing and a large storm cloud hanging above her head.

“I’ll have to thank Trixie for mentoring me in illusions,” Twilight said as she cancelled her magic, allowing the storm cloud and her limp ragdoll body to disappear.

“Illusions? Impossible,” Sunset Shimmer argued. “My barrier should dispel any and all magic sent my way, including illusions. That’s why all those who fought me couldn’t-”

“So that’s why my brother lost to you,” Twilight deduced. “He must have tried to detain you with a barrier, but then yours was stronger. Trixie’s illusions would have been no good, either.” Twilight closed her eyes and took a single, soothing breath. “… But there’s one thing you didn’t account for.”

“… What’s that?” Sunset asked as she watched Twilight Sparkle opening her eyes. Purple streams of mist leaked from their sides and her white sclerae had turned green. “… Why? Why wouldn’t the princess turn something as dangerous as you away?”

“Like I said, the princess isn’t like that,” Twilight said.

“No. I think it must be that she learned her lesson,” Sunset argued. “‘Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer’… How interesting.” Sunset’s hoof twitched and, with some effort, she began to push herself up, much to Twilight’s shock and surprise. “I see. I understand now. That storm cloud wasn’t real; it was an illusion. And knowing that, I can recover just fine.”

“No way! Even if it was an illusion, the impact it had on your was real and should have stayed!”

“I was Celestia’s star pupil,” Sunset Shimmer said. “A mere trick like that won’t work to keep me down! First, I’ll crush you, and then I’ll kill your precious mentor!”

“I won’t let you!” Twilight yelled as her horn flared so, black streams of magic spiralling as she lowered her head and prepared to fire her spell towards her opponent.

“Now that I know you’re casting illusions, I won’t be caught off guard like I was before,” Sunset said calmly as she extended her right forehoof to the side, flames spiralling around it and gathering at the tip, mere inches from a startled Twilight’s muzzle. “You had one shot. You should have gone for the kill.”

A bright explosion filled the area, and all that Twilight’s friends could do was call out her name from the hospital room’s window as smoke began to rise into the air.

Looking into the white void ahead of her, Rainbow Dash wasn’t quite sure what she was expecting, but this was definitely at the bottom of the list. It was herself, holding Trixie and telling her that everything was going to be okay. Trixie kissed the other Rainbow’s cheek, making Rainbow Dash’s eye twitch.

“Hey! Get off my marefriend!” she shouted, charging forward, only to hitting an invisible wall. “What the? Hey!” A thought crossed Rainbow Dash’s mind. “Hold on. What if this’s just like a memory or something?”

Rainbow Dash continued to watch the scene. The other Rainbow pushed Trixie away and began to leave. “Get lost. I never want to see you again.”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“No, please! Don’t leave me! I-” Trixie gasped, the tears rolling down her face coming to a sudden stop. “W-Where am I?”

“You’re awake?” Trixie turned around to find Rainbow Dash standing behind her.

The real Rainbow Dash watched with confusion as the fake moved in to hug Trixie, the previous imposter having already disappeared moments before. “What’s going on? Did she forget what just happened? Why is that fake being nice to her now?”

“Such is the work of a truly accomplished magician,” a voice behind Rainbow Dash said, prompting the pegasus to turn around quickly and find Sunset Shimmer standing behind her. “My spell hasn’t just locked away feelings of love and trust. I’ve also locked her into this eternal cycle of hope and betrayal. Over and over, for as long as she lives, she will find hope in the one she loves… and then be betrayed. It will never end.”

“How could you do something so horrible? Why would you even do something like that?!” Rainbow Dash demanded, ready to pound Sunset Shimmer at a moment’s notice.

“To teach her a lesson,” Sunset replied. “Just the coma was enough to bait Celestia into my trap, but that mare, she seemed to truly hold feelings of love for this ‘Rainbow Dash’ in her heart. At the same time, I could feel the same darkness coming from her that I felt when Celestia betrayed me. Feelings of doubt, of insecurity, the feeling of being all alone with nopony to trust. She had experienced this all at some point in her life, yet now she has the gull to act as if she is happy, to act as if there is a place where she belongs.

“It infuriated me, so I thought I would teach her a lesson.”

“What the hell are you talking about?! What kinda reason is that?! I showed Trixie that she can trust ponies! I’m the one who brought her back from being all alone, and we’ve been happy together ever since then! Just ‘cause you’re jealous, doesn’t give you the right to-”

“Silence! You understand nothing! It is in the nature of every single pony to betray each other. Sure, we work and act as these so-called ‘communities’ for the sake of survival, but when it comes down to it, when it becomes necessary, we betray each other at the drop of a hat! This mare would never last if she continued to believe that some ponies were different. Really, keeping her locked up in here was a kindness!”

“You’re crazy!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Just because you think Celestia betrayed you, doesn’t give you the right to-”

“I was betrayed! And I will make her pay… I’ll make you all pay!” Sunset Shimmer charged forward, her horn alight. Rainbow Dash dodged to the side as a blast of magic was fired her way. “How dare she… How dare she climb out of the darkness, smiling and laughing like there isn’t a problem in the world! Once you’ve been betrayed, you should know better than to trust in others! Who does this mare think she is!”

“Oh, boohoo, Celestia was hard on you! Get over it! There’s more to life than trying to impress one pony!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Y’know, before me and Trix got together, she went all over Equestria and still had problems dealing with other ponies, but she still kept goin’! You gave up after just one pony lost their faith in you!”

“Shut up!” Sunset Shimmer yelled, her horn and eyes sparking as magic leaked out. “You know nothing! You understand nothing!”

“I get that you’re a quitter and a sore loser! Trixie’s not that weak, though! Even when things were at their worst, she still kept goin’! She didn’t run away to some other world or whatever, she just kept trying!” Rainbow Dash turned to Trixie, sitting deeper into the void with another Rainbow Dash striking her cheek, and shouted, “THAT’S WHY I KNOW YOU WON’T QUIT NOT, WILL YOU, TRIXIE?!”

Trixie gasped and looked all around her. “What was that?” she whispered.

“You fool!” Sunset Shimmer shouted. “She can’t hear you!”

“Oh no?! Hey Trixie! C’mon, how ‘Great and Powerful’ can you be if you just sit there all depressed your entire life?!”

Trixie narrowed her eyes. “Why do I feel like I have just been insulted?”

“Hey! You don’t really think that me over there is real, do you?!”

Trixie turned to the Rainbow Dash who had just struck her. “… Are you… real?”

“Would the real me hit a pony who just woke up and doesn’t know what’s what?!”

“The real Dash would never strike a pony who’s down.”

“What are you doing?” Sunset asked, watching in disbelief as Trixie rose to her hooves with a determined look on her face.

“Would I leave you just ‘cause you’re out of it?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, ignoring Sunset’s question.

“Rainbow Dash would never betray somepony, let alone somepony who’s not even conscious!” Trixie declared, pointing a hoof towards the Rainbow Dash before her.

“What did I say before I left for the academy?!”

Trixie narrowed her eyes. “Dash is going to wait for me, and she asked me to wait for her.”

Sunset Shimmer stomped her hooves down onto the ground and unleashed a shockwave of magic. “NO! You are wrong! Ponies betray each other! She can’t be trusted! NONE OF YOUR FRIENDS CAN BE TRUSTED!”

Trixie gasped and took a step back as images of all of her friends appeared before her. Applejack and Rarity were armed with tomatoes, Pinkie Pie was glaring, Fluttershy wasn’t even looking at her and Twilight Sparkle was holding up a scroll entitled: ‘Decree of Banishment’. Finally, Rainbow Dash gave the signal, and everypony attacked at once through harsh words and produce thrown towards the showmare’s face.

“Come on! What part of that looks anything like our friends?!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“I know, right?” Trixie responded. “Fluttershy would never turn a blind eye to abuse.” The image of Fluttershy vanished in the blink of an eye. “Pinkie Pie only glares like that when somepony hurts a friend.” The Pinkie Pie also vanished. “Rarity and Applejack may be stubborn and hold grudges, but they’re not violent. Twilight doesn’t wave her authority around like that, and Rainbow Dash… above all else, she would never gang up on any one pony.”

The rest of the images of Trixie’s friends disappeared, and the showmare turned her head to face Rainbow Dash. The real one, this time. “Heh. I knew you could do it.”

“Thanks to you,” Trixie said. “One year ago, I never would have doubted the images I just saw. But you showed Trixie the true nature of ponies. We stick together!”

“NO!” Sunset Shimmer yelled. “NO NO NO NO NO! Do not trust her! She will betray you! When the time is right, she will toss you aside and leave you with nothing but painful memories and deep regrets!”

Trixie put a hoof to her chin. “Hmmm… Nah. That doesn’t sound like my Dashie.”

“You fool! Don’t you get it? It’s a trick! Do you honestly trust her that much?!”

Trixie gave the image of Sunset Shimmer a quick grin, before teleporting to Rainbow Dash’s side leaning against her partner. “Yes. I do.”

“And I trust her,” Rainbow Dash said. “So what now? You still think you can drive us apart? Go ahead and try! It won’t work, though!”

“You… How dare… I will…” Sunset’s mane and tail caught fire as she unleashed a bloodcurdling scream that echoed throughout the void. “DIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!”

“Here it comes!” Rainbow Dash shouted as the enraged Sunset Shimmer charged towards them, her entire body now just one big flame that forced the two mares to shield their eyes.

“You’ve got my back, right?” Trixie asked. “This time, Trixie’s got yours, too!”

Quickly, Rainbow Dash folded her wings to shield herself and Trixie, whilst Trixie simultaneously erected a barrier that deflected the incoming attack. “You can’t get through to us!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Face it, you might as well just give up!”

“This is Trixie’s mind,” Trixie said. “Dashie is welcome in here anytime, but you are not!”

“You will regret placing your trust in another,” Sunset warned as she looked down at the blue unicorn through the barrier.

“I’ll take my chances. It’s worth it to be with Dash. Now, away with you!” Trixie’s horn flared and the image of Sunset Shimmer cried out as the barrier consumed her, dissolving her before the mares’ very eyes. The cries slowly died down along with the light caused by Trixie’s magic. Eventually, the two were left all alone in the large, white void together.

“Is she gone?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Seems like it,” Trixie said. “Hey… thanks for saving Trixie.”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Well, it’s kinda my job. I mean, somepony’s gotta look out for you, since you’re always getting into some kinda trouble.”

“You don’t have to make it seem as though Trixie is some sort of child,” Trixie said in a flat tone. “Anyway, you should probably leave now. Trixie is waiting for you out there.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, before looking around for a few seconds. “Uh… how?” A door suddenly appeared beside the two mares, with a large sign above it reading: ‘EXIT’. “Oh. Well, that’s helpful.”

“Thanks again,” Trixie said, leaning in and giving her saviour a quick kiss on the cheek. “Trixie will never forget how you saved her today.”

“Well, just remember the next time I need you to do something for me,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin before turning to approach the door. Grabbing the handle, Rainbow Dash paused to take a deep breath, before pulling the door open and stepping out from the light and into the darkness ahead.

Flint and Coal found themselves once again being lifted into the air and hurled to the side by Sunset’s magic, crashing into the side of a building and falling hard onto the ground below.

“Y’know, sometimes I feel that the guard only exists for appearances,” Flint said to his partner in a dazed tone.

“D-Don’t think like that. It’s bad for your health,” Coal responded, before the two passed out for the third time that day.

“Those two sure are persistent,” Sunset growled as she teleported to the side to dodge an incoming beam of magic. “As are you.”

“I… have to… stay strong…” Twilight said between pants as she slowly moved her body to face Sunset Shimmer again, each slight movement causing her joints to ache. Sweat rolled down her forehead and mingled with the tears slowly leaking from her eyes, but she kept a strong glare fixed on the poltergeist ahead of her. “It’s my job… as a princess!”

Sunset’s eyes narrowed as she ignited a fire quickly beneath Twilight’s right forehoof, causing the alicorn to back away quickly with a yelp. “You must want to die. I’ll say it again: you are not fit to bear that title! A true princess isn’t only somepony who can lead; it’s also somepony with power! The strong will rise and control the weak! Anypony who threatens that peace must be stopped at an early age! In my case, I was expelled…”

Sunset Shimmer teleported just one inch before Twilight, startling her opponent as she reached a forehoof up and tapped her muzzle. “In yours, you were just moulded into something soft and naïve.” Pushing her forehoof forward and enhancing her kick with magic, Sunset Shimmer pushed Twilight backwards until she crashed into the wall of the hospital behind her. The dark streams flowing from Twilight’s eyes vanished, and the sclerae returned to normal.

“Princess…” Twilight tried to push herself up, but found that she lacked to strength to do so. “Have to… protect…”

“Give it a rest,” Sunset said. “There’s no reason for me to kill you at this point. If you just stay like that, only your princess needs to die today. You’re smart. Surely you can see the logical thing to do here.”

“… I… I will… not let you down, Princess…”

With a sigh, Sunset stepped forward, moving closer to the downed alicorn with her horn flaring. “STOOOOOOOP!” The poltergeist did indeed stop, and then moved backwards very quickly with a surprised look on her face as a boxing glove made contact with her cheek, knocking her down onto the ground before retracting into the large, silver canon planted firmly on the ground outside of the hospital.

“Uh, Pinkie?” Applejack asked as she knelt down beside Twilight, throwing a blanket over her shivering friend. “Isn’t that yer party canon?”

“Yep! Slightly modified to protect my friends!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she patted the canon, causing the glove to spring out suddenly before retracting. “… I wouldn’t stand in front of it.”

“Guys?” Twilight asked as she looked up at her friends. Rarity stepped into her vision and brought a wet hoofkerchief down to Twilight’s face, wiping away some of the blood on her forehead. “What are you doing? I told you to stay inside!”

“Well we couldn’t just leave ya while you were in trouble!” Applejack told Twilight, looking over to Sunset Shimmer with a hard glare as she removed her hat. “… Haven’t ya realised from our past battles, Twilight? We work best together.”

“Even if we don’t have the Elements, six heads are better than one!” Pinkie Pie said in a cheerful tone. “Though I guess we don’t have Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy right now. Still, four head are better than one, too!”

“Y-You guys…” Twilight gasped and quickly shook her head. “No, it’s too dangerous! Besides, if you’re all out here, then who’s protecting the princess?!”

“Actually, Twilight, about that,” Rarity began, only to be cut off by Applejack pushing and pinning her down to the ground. “D-Darling! This is hardly the time or the place,” she said with a blush and a slight grin.

“Not mah intention,” Applejack deadpanned, pointing a hoof to the wall beside them, which was sizzling from the centre of a freshly-made scorch mark.

“This is your entourage?” Sunset Shimmer asked as she looked over the small group that had now gather before her. “Pathetic. One looks and sounds like a simple country bumpkin. Another looks far too frail and delicate to be of any use in an emergency. And the other…” Sunset grimaced as the pink pony standing behind the canon smiled and waved enthusiastically towards her. “… Is an idiot.”

“What?!” Pinkie Pie shouted in shock, now glaring rather than smiling. “What do you mean I look like an idiot?!”

“Actually, she never said ‘looks like’,” Rarity whispered to Applejack.

“L-Let’s just pretend we didn’t hear nothin’,” Applejack whispered back.

Twilight put some effort into standing up once more, this time succeeding in rising to her hooves and facing Sunset Shimmer with a determined gaze. “These aren’t my bodyguards or my servants or anything like that! They are my friends!” Twilight turned and smiled to her three friends, each of them smiling back. “And I trust them all with my life! I know that together, we can stand up to anything!”

“That’s nice, for a fairytale, but real life doesn’t work like that. The truth is, reality is much harsher,” Sunset Shimmer said as she took a step forward.

“You are most correct.” Sunset stopped and turned around quickly, wondering who could have sneaked up on her without her sensing anything. “That is why the Royal Guard of Equestria exists, to serve and to protect the citizens. And, at the very top of this military structure…”

“W-Who are you?” Sunset asked the new dark-blue alicorn standing before her. “Another princess? You’re not Mi Amore. Just how many students did Celestia replace me with? No, there’s no way she could have appointed two new princesses in such a short time.”

“It seems that you do not recognise me. Perhaps you would know me better as ‘Nightmare Moon’?”

“N-Nightmare Moon?!” Sunset took a step back, her body trembling as she now realised who she was faced with. “It couldn’t be… You are Celestia’s sister?”

“In the flesh. I hear that you have caused many of my sister’s students a great deal of harm.” Luna’s horn lit up and the sky above her began to darken. “I shall not permit this to go on any further.”

“She’s here!” Pinkie Pie cheered, bouncing up-and-down in celebration. “Hey Princess Luna! What took you so long?!”

“P-Pinkie!” Rarity scolded. “Please! I’m certain that the princess had a good reason to-”

“Actually, Princess Celestia sent that letter some time ago,” Applejack said. “It shouldn’t have taken this long for her to have gotten here.”

“Well, let’s just say that my sister has never been the best when it comes to directions.” Everypony turned to the hospital’s entrance, finding a large, white figure emerging from within. “Even to this day, she still has trouble navigating our castle.”

“P-Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried as she ran to her mentor’s side, tackling the larger alicorn in a hug.

“Sister! Please do not bring up unnecessary subjects!” Luna shouted with a light blush.

“You’re awake already?” Sunset Shimmer asked, her shaking eyes focussed on the white alicorn staring calmly back towards her. “I-Impossible. After what I did to that mare, there’s no way she could have been saved that easily… No way…”

“Clearly you don’t know who you were messing with,” Trixie said as she stepped out from behind Celestia, a hoof draped around Rainbow’s neck as the two stepped forward. “Not only am I the Great and Powerful Trixie…”

“But I’m the awesomely amazing Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow added.

“Together, we are Equestria’s strongest duo!” Trixie declared, shooting firework into the air that exploded into rainbow patterns. She then coughed up a small portion of blood, startling her marefriend.

“H-Hey! I told you not to overdo it!”

“B-But it was totally worth it! Did you hear how in sync our lines were?”

“I don’t care! Safety first, idiot!”

“Not like ye’re one ta talk,” Applejack muttered.

“What was that?!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“You…” All eyes turned to Sunset Shimmer, who was staring at the two mares in complete and utter shock. “You… actually got her out of that coma? You risked your own neck to defeat my spell?” Sunset’s eyes turned to Trixie. “And you! I showed you what would come of trusting others! The pain that comes when you are betrayed! Don’t tell me that… even after all that, you still trust that mare beside you?!”

Trixie leaned into Rainbow’s shoulder and said, “The Great and Powerful Trixie has deceived and been deceived. She has also trusted and been trusted. Unlike you, Trixie didn’t give up at the first hurdle. That is why she was able to live long enough to understand how to trust others, and the value of being loved. Your spell can’t break me that easily!”

“Even though I was the one who had to go in and break it for you,” Rainbow Dash muttered, earning an elbow to her side.

“Sunset Shimmer, please stop this meaningless revenge-seeking,” Princess Celestia said, stepping forward to confront her former pupil’s ghost. “What happened between us can never be taken back, but there is still an entire future where we can make amends and-”

“Silence! You told me that I was destined for great things, that I was above the rest!” Sunset’s horn began to spark as she lowered her head and pointed her magic at the princess. “You said that you would guide me and I followed you like you were my own mother!” Tears streamed down the poltergeist’s face as the magic flared, illuminating the area with an intense light. “I was always prepared to do whatever you asked of me, and how did you repay me?! YOU THREW ME AWAY! And now, I’ll throw you away, FOREVER!”

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried as she felt herself being pushed away by the princess’ magic. Sunset’s spell stopped short of Celestia’s face as it collided with a wall of dark-blue mist.

“Celestia,” Luna said, “This creature is not your student. She is but an image from the past, tormented by pained memories. You must put her out of this misery, for all our sakes.”

Celestia hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Sunset Shimmer… I pray that you are still doing well in your other world.”

“So you’ll throw me away again? Well I won’t let you!” Sunset’s horn sparked again, but this time her magic was cancelled as a blue blur followed by an explosive rainbow raced past the poltergeist. “W-What was-”

“Okay, Princess, you’re good to go!” Rainbow Dash shouted from behind Sunset Shimmer.

“Trixie enhanced Rainbow’s kick with her magic,” Trixie told the princess before grunting and falling to her knees. “That creature won’t be able to conjure up another spell any time soon.”

Celestia nodded, and began preparations for her own spell. The frightened Sunset Shimmer began to back away, turning around and running as soon as the white glow from Celestia’s horn spread to her eyes.

“Farewell, my faithful student.” An intense light washed over the area, blinding everypony nearby for a short time before the magic began to die out, revealing the scene exactly as it was before… but with one less poltergeist, and one more teardrop rolling down the white alicorn’s face. “I’m sorry…”

“OW OW OW OW OW!” Trixie flailed her hooves about in protest as Rainbow Dash tortured her. Pinned down to her own bed with no means of escape, and in no condition to use magic, Trixie thought that the end was about to come. “Why are you trying to kill me?!”

“What’re ya sayin’?!” Rainbow Dash asked as she pressed her hoof down into Trixie’s back, earning another shriek from the showmare. “I used to massage my dad all the time and he always said I was awesome at it!”

“Well then you’re dad’s either a liar or incredibly messed UH-HUP!” Trixie tried to inch forward, but the mare sitting on top of her was just too heavy. “Can’t you be a little more gentle?! Use your wings or something!”

“My wings?” Rainbow Dash flexed her left wing for a moment before bringing it down experimentally to Trixie’s back. After a few soft, gentle movements of her wing, Trixie gave a pleasant sigh as opposed to the agonised wailing from earlier. “Better?”

“Much better.” A moment of silenced passed as Trixie lay contentedly with Rainbow Dash in her trailer. “Hey, Trixie heard that Spitfire and the others were discharged this morning.”

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment. “Oh, yeah… Their wounds are better now, so they’ll be returning to the academy later today.” A few more seconds of silence filled the air before Rainbow Dash said, “I’ll be leaving, too.”

Trixie sighed. “Well… at least we got to spend a little time together.”

“Yeah. I mean, it would have been nice if we could have actually gone somewhere…”

“Well excuse Trixie for being ill after a life-threatening coma.”

“Hey guys!”

Rainbow Dash jumped the sudden intrusion of Scootaloo in her field of vision, causing her to accidentally press a hoof down into Trixie’s back, which led to the showmare screaming in agony once more.

“You little…” Trixie’s eye twitched as she growled at the little interloper, smiling angelically back towards her. “What are you doing here?!”

“Just came to say goodbye! Our class is leaving today!”

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said, “You’re okay, right? I mean, you’re not still hurt or anything?”

Scootaloo shook her head and raised her foreleg to prove her point. “Nah! I’m feelin’ better already! Though, truth-be-told, I was already feelin’ good enough to go and help you guys out in just one hour!”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Well, it’s the thought that counts, right? But thanks for not rushing into trouble this time.”

“Trixie bets she was rushing into trouble,” Trixie said, casting an accusing gaze over the filly before grinning and adding, “Maybe she got distracted by the big city stores along the way?”

Scootaloo flinched and took a step back. “O-Of course I didn’t! What d’you think I am, a kid?”

“Yes.”

“… A-Anyway, I just wanted to give you some souvenirs real quick.” Scootaloo reached into her saddlebag and pulled out two gift-wrapped items, giving one each to the two mares. “C’mon, open them!”

With a smile, Rainbow Dash unwrapped her present, finding a small box with a coffee mug inside. On the side of the mug were the words: ‘World’s Best Sister’. “Wow, thanks, Squirt! This’ll really help with those early-morning exercises.”

Scootaloo smiled proudly at her good deed. “A wand,” Trixie deadpanned as she held up the small black wand with white tips. The top half of the wand suddenly fell to the side and a small roped inside connecting the two halves was revealed. “It’s, uh… okay.”

“Well, I’ve gotta go now! Miss Cheerilee doesn’t like me being out of sight,” Scootaloo said as she rushed to Rainbow Dash’s side and hugged the mare.

“I wonder why,” Trixie muttered, before being caught off guard by a hug from the filly. “… Uh…”

“Okay, bye!” Scootaloo shouted before dashing out of the trailer and running down the street outside into the distance.

“Even if she isn’t truly your sister, Trixie must admit a strong resemblance,” Trixie said, staring at her new wand for a second before shrugging and levitating it into her pile of props in the back of the trailer.

“Actually, I should probably get goin’ now, too,” Rainbow Dash said as she climbed off of Trixie.

“What? Already?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Sorry, but Captain Spitfire wants to make up for all the training we missed.” Trixie climbed to her hooves and Rainbow Dash took a step forward to kiss the other mare. As the two parted, Rainbow said, “Hey, we’ll see each other at Heath’s Warming, okay?”

Trixie nodded her head reluctantly. “I suppose it can’t really be helped. Trixie will still continue sending you letters though, maybe with a few photographs to help you through those lonely times?”

“Hey, now there’s an idea,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. “Try to be conscious next time I visit, alright?”

Trixie harrumphed and escorted her marefriend outside of the trailer. “It’s not like you gave Trixie any notice this time around.” The two stopped just outside, staring into each other’s eyes for a few moments, before sharing one more farewell kiss together.

“Well, be seein’ ya,” Rainbow Dash said as she pulled away, scratching the back of her head.

Trixie nodded as she watched Rainbow Dash slowly lift into the air. “… Good luck up there.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow said with a smile. “You work hard, too. I want a great show when I get back!”

As Rainbow Dash took off into the air, Trixie watched the rainbow trail leaving her and sighed. After taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Trixie turned back towards her trailer and stepped towards it. “I should get back onto the road soon, too. Trixie can’t let Dashie have all the fun, after all.”

26 - TrixDash Finale/Epilogue

One full year had passed since Rainbow Dash had left Ponyville to train as a Wonderbolt. During that time, many things had happened in the not-so-quiet little town. After many months of patience and subtle hints, Applejack had finally gave in and proposed to Rarity. The two now live happily together in Carousal Boutique and recently began looking into adoption.

Twilight Sparkle continued to study magic whilst still making time for all of her friends, and after word had spread around Ponyville Elementary School about the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ rising grades, the princess found herself with a truckload of new foals all asking for her tutelage. Two particularly rich fillies make sure she is always kept busy.

Fluttershy followed Rainbow Dash’s example and started to pursue a fulltime career as a licensed vet. After a series of misunderstandings that led to her enlisting into the military, Fluttershy finally managed to get things under control and her new apprenticeship under the Ponyville veterinarian began. Though she had her new friend Gilda to thank for that.

Gilda continued to visit Fluttershy occasionally, doing her best to not be noticed by the ponies of Ponyville. They totally knew from the start. He griffon’s visits are often fun for Fluttershy, though she wishes that Gilda would stop trying to tear out Discord’s arteries, and that Discord would stop provoking her. Still, the more the merrier, as they always say.

Pinkie Pie continued to work at Sugarcube Corner, whilst also throwing plenty of fun parties and events all over the town. She also sometimes accompanies Trixie out of town to throw parties and sell the Cakes’ baked goods in new locations, bringing many ponies all the way to Ponyville to visit the now-famous Sugarcube Corner. Mayor Mare has never been happier.

As for Trixie, her shows continued to flourish, as did her reputation. Word spread about the magical mare with a knack for story-telling and illusionary prowess, as well as a short fuse against neigh-sayers and her humorous ways of punishing them onstage. Also her declarations of being ‘mightier than the princesses themselves’ had earned her some renown throughout the kingdom.

Though she visited Ponyville often, much of the mare’s time was spent travelling all over Equestria, and even outside of its borders sometimes. Still, the times that she spent in Ponyville were always welcomed by her friends there. Her shows were a good distraction for the bored locals during the middle of the day, and her two students were always eager to learn more magic from their mentor.

During Hearth’s Warming Eve, Rainbow Dash returned for three full days. Trixie coordinated the Ponyville Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant that year, casting herself as Clover the Clever in Twilight’s stead. Afterwards, Rainbow Dash and Trixie spent the night exchanging stories and showing each other how much progress they had made.

For Hearts and Hooves Day, Rainbow Dash was permitted one day to visit her marefriend. Unfortunately, Trixie had chosen that particular day to injure her eye in a tragic fireworks accident and Rainbow Dash spent the entire day by Trixie’s bedside, reading her stories from the Daring Do series.

During the Summer Sun Celebration, Rainbow Dash was given the honour of joining the Wonderbolts in Canterlot as a reward for being at the top of the class. She gave this honour up, however, as she wanted to spend the day with Trixie. Trixie scolded Rainbow for this decision, telling her that she should have taken the chance to fly with her heroes, and the two got into a bit of a fight that lasted for nearly two full weeks in their letters. They promptly made up when Spitfire, fed up of seeing her top cadet so distracted in training, summoned Trixie to Cloudsdale and scolded the both of them, and then threatened to have them both clean Soarin’s room until they had made up. They did so promptly. Soarin’s self-esteem was dropped three sizes that day.

One full year, and just like any other day in that past year, something was happening in Ponyville. Trixie Lulamoon had returned from a week-long expedition into the Cave of Horrors where she had supposedly faced and defeated the dreaded Medusa, and she was preparing to share the story with everypony in the town square.

Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were all given their usual VIP spots. Scootaloo was not offered one but Twilight allowed her to stand on her back to watch anyway. The crowd had gathered, the stage had unfolded, and the show was ready to commence.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” a booming voice declared as smoke filled the stage and sparklers ignited to either side. “Prepare yourselves for a tale of greatness! A tale of wonder! A tale of magic!” A light filled the stage and the crowd erupted into cheers as their favourite resident magician appeared in a sea of sparkles. “Are you ready to hear of the blood-curdling battle between the Great and Powerful Trixie, and the dreaded Medusa?!”

Foals in the audience cheered whilst Twilight and her friends simply played along, Spike limiting it to slow claps and Fluttershy-level ‘yay’s.

“Then let the show, COMMENCE!” Trixie pointed a hoof into the air, and at that time, a rainbow explosion awed everypony present. Trixie looked up and quirked an eyebrow. ‘That wasn’t supposed to happen.’

Another rainbow explosion to the left confused some ponies, and then a third explosion above the crowd startled everypony present. The air seemed to shimmer and distort all the way to the stage before a cloud of dust rose up, obscuring everypony’s views and causing Trixie to break into a coughing fit.

“Water?”

Trixie took the glass of water offered to her by the mysterious blue hoof and chugged it quickly. “Thanks… Wait, who goes there?!” Trixie shouted, using her magic to clear the dust. She gasped at what she saw, as did everypony in the audience. “Y-You!”

“Heh. Miss me much?” Rainbow Dash asked as she removed the goggles covering her eyes. She stood tall and proud in her full Wonderbolt uniform with a glorious golden medal draped around her neck, the number ‘1’ engraved into it. Her long rainbow mane was tied into a ponytail that flowed far down her back and her face was decorated with a few small bandages here-and-there.

“Rai-”

“RAINBOW DASH!”

Rainbow Dash was tackled from the side by a certain pink pony with a voice loud enough to shatter eardrums. Trixie could only watch as another mare beat her to the punch in welcoming Rainbow Dash home the ‘Ponyville way’.

“P-Pinkie! C’mon!” Rainbow Dash slipped out of Pinkie Pie’s hold and smiled at her friends standing in the audience before her. “Hey guys! I’m back.”

“So we noticed,” Applejack said with a grin.

“So how did it go?” Rarity asked. “Did you… become a Wonderbolt?”

“Either that or she’s developed a hobby in dressing up,” Spike answered sarcastically.

“That’s wonderful! Congratulations, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said, Fluttershy nodding beside her.

“Way to go.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing the back of her head as she blushed under the sea of applause before her. “Sorry for not sayin’ anything, but I wanted this to be a surprise.” Rainbow turned to Trixie, who was still staring with a surprised look on her face. “I’ve actually got somethin’ I need to say here.”

Everypony watched as Rainbow Dash reached into her saddlebag with a wing, muttered when she pulled something out that they couldn’t see, and then gasped as she lowered herself to one knee before Trixie.

“Trix… I guess I made you wait a bit, huh? Sorry ‘bout that, but y’know what? I still loved you even when we were so far apart. You were actually half my motivation for doin’ well up there and helped me get through a lot of hard times, and even if we could only talk through letters, I still loved it when I got your letters and wrote to you. I still had so much fun with you and still felt like I wanted to spend more time with you.” Rainbow Dash opened the box, revealing a ring inside with a beautiful diamond attached, reflecting the sunlight. “Trixie, will you marry me?”

All fell silent. Even the grasshoppers were waiting with bated breaths for Trixie’s answer. The showmare herself simply stared into Rainbow Dash’s eyes whilst standing perfectly still, like a statue. Finally, Trixie reacted… by snatching the box out of Rainbow’s hoof with her magic. “What do you think you’re doing?!” she shouted, startling her marefriend. “First you come back without any warning, you interrupt Trixie’s show and hug Pinkie Pie before me-”

“Actually, she attacked me.”

“-And now you have the nerve to upstage the Great and Powerful Trixie, on her own stage?!” Trixie threw her hat aside and dropped down to one knee, opening the box before Rainbow Dash. “If anypony is going to propose, it will be me! Rainbow Dash, will you accept the honour of marrying me?”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and stood up in protest. “Hey! Do you have any idea how long I worked on that corny speech?! I don’t exactly do mushy, in case you hadn’t noticed! I had to practice in front of a mirror for weeks to get that down! Not to mention I bought that ring with my own saving money!” Rainbow Dash grabbed the ring and attempted to pry it from Trixie’s magic. “I’m proposing, and that’s that!”

Trixie also stood up and increased her magic’s strength. “It is Trixie’s stage! I’ll propose!”

“For the love of Celestia, one of ya jus’ answer already!” Applejack cried out in frustration. “Are y’all gettin’ hitched or what?!”

Rainbow Dash and Trixie stopped fighting over the ring as they stared into each other’s eyes. “… Trixie is indeed ready to marry.”

Rainbow Dash nodded with a smile. “Yeah. Let’s get married.”

The two moved closer together and connected their lips, earning a loud outburst of cheers and applause from the audience, hooves stomping against the ground and clapping together even as the two parted and Trixie bowed to her loving fans.

“It seems that today’s show will have to be rescheduled!” Trixie announced as soon as the crowd began to quiet down. “It has been some time, and the Great and Powerful Trixie wishes to catch up with her awesome partner!”

“We understand,” Applejack said. “Y’all go an’ ‘catch up’. We’ll talk later ‘bout the weddin’ plans.”

As Trixie and Rainbow Dash left the stage, Scootaloo jumped off of Twilight’s head and began to follow. “Wait up! I wanna catch up, too!” A blue aura pulled Scootaloo back and the filly looked back to find Rarity holding her tail with her magic. “Hey! What gives?”

“Let’s give them their space,” Rarity said. “The two of them haven’t seen each other for some time. They need some private time alone.”

“Huh? Why?” Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’m her sister. Can’t I join in?”

“… You’ll understand when you’re older,” Rarity said as she placed a huffing Scootaloo down onto Twilight’s back.

“That again? Will somepony please just tell me what that means already?!”

“Looks like y’all have got some new dresses ta make,” Applejack said to Rarity.

“And I’ve got a ceremony to plan!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “This is so awesome!”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “Not only the wedding, but Rainbow Dash is finally recognising her dream.”

“You’re right!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “That means we’ll have to have two parties! Watch out, dentist! Pinkie Pie is gonna whip up one mean sugary fiesta!”

As Pinkie Pie dashed off to plan her party, Twilight looked towards Trixie’s now-folded-up stage and smiled. “I can’t believe how much things have changed in just a couple of years. Back then, I had no interest in other ponies. Now, I couldn’t be any happier for two of my best friends. And I also can’t wait to see what the future hold for them.”

Meanwhile, inside of Trixie’s trailer, two mares were catching up once more through the exchange of their tales over the past year. Neither one knew what future challenges lay ahead of them, but they were both eager to face them together. A new life was about to start for them, but at that present time, they were content to just share the moment together.

-The End-

Author's Note

Yikes. Over a full year it took to get this thing done. I hadn't intended it to go one for quite so long, but lots of work, new games and procrastination combined has that effect, I suppose ^_^;;

In any case, with this final chapter/epilogue here, TrixDash is now officially complete!~ Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!

To all those who liked/faved this: Thanks :3 You guys are awesome and are a main source of motivation for my continued writing.
To all those who continued to wait for new chapters during those long gaps: Sorry you waited so long, and hopefully the final product was at least satisfactory ^_^;;

And to those who like my other works and those that even follow me, you guys are the best :D

And now, I leave you all with this:

1 - Chance Encounter (Part I)

Baltimare – a town located on the eastern coast of Equestria, just above Horseshoe Bay, where most of the ships that travel between Equestria and neighbouring nations dock. It is not the biggest town on the Equestrian map, but it is by no means the smallest, either. The town is famous for its diversity of culture; business, art, music, blacksmithing, quarrying, tailoring… Baltimare is the place to go if you want to sample a wide variety of cultures without all the travel expenses.

It also a place that many ponies go to when they retire, as the coast makes for a great relaxation spot for senior citizens to spend their days, and there is one of Equestria’s biggest golf courses located just outside of the town.

Rainbow Dash suggested it to her father, Spectrum Brush, after he announced his retirement from racing. Five years ago, when Rainbow Dash had just moved out of the house, Spectrum had suffered a heart attack during his race, and was rushed to the hospital immediately. He survived, but he decided then that he was simply too old to continue and, after one final race against the Wonderbolts, announced his retirement.

He wasn’t sad, and he left no regrets behind. He always raced with honour and pride, and as he looks back on those day behind him, he smiles. Now-a-days, he has taken up a small job in an antique shop, whilst passing his spare time with painting, Spectrum’s second favourite activity after racing. He has made many friends in town, and has generally been accepted as one of the town’s very own.

And, to make his life complete, he still receives visits from his daughter once or twice a month. Her last visit revealed that she had made it into the Wonderbolts Academy, which naturally brightened the stallion’s entire day even more than flirting with the pretty mare whose café he frequents.

As Spectrum opened up his shop for the day, he looked up at the clock behind him and smiled. “Dashter’s gonna be here soon. Better make myself look presentable.” Licking his hoof and walking over towards a nearby mirror, Spectrum leaned down and brushed his hoof over his messy mane once. “Ah, that should be alright.”

With that, Spectrum walked over to the counter and grabbed his magazine as he waited for his first customer to walk into the store.

As Rainbow Dash flew through the sky at a high altitude, she closed her eyes for a second and picked up her speed, feeling the pleasant breeze of the morning air running through her mane. It was nearing midday now, and she had been flying for about thirty minutes, ever since getting off of the train a few stops back. Taking the train the whole way would have been faster, but also, it would have been more boring.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened, and she saw the town of Baltimare in the distance, drawing closer to her quickly. She gradually dropped her speed and lowered her altitude, and soon she was flying just above the ground at a leisurely pace.

“Alright, first thing’s first!” Rainbow said though her heavy, ragged breathing. “Make a stop at the park to get some water, take five, and then, go and meet dad…”

After a brief moment to catch her breath and find her bearings, Rainbow Dash began making her way towards the nearby park, remembering its location from her previous visits to Baltimare. Her destination was the water fountain in the centre of the large park, flying over the fillies and colts playing below her and performing a few somersaults on the way, earning a little applause from the little ones.

After reaching the water fountain and taking a nice long drink, Rainbow let out a sigh of relief and wiped her lips with a foreleg. As she did so, she noticed something that made her eyes widen. A wooden trailer in the distance, sitting by the lakeside, with a small wooden decoration hanging above its entrance in the shape of a certain somepony’s Cutie Mark.

However, the trailer looked a lot smaller than the previous one like it that Rainbow Dash had seen. Not to mention it looked shoddy, and mouldy, and was covered in graffiti. Words like ‘FAKE’, or ‘FRAUD’, or ‘GET OUT!’ were painted on the side, along with an image of what Rainbow Dash could only imagine was an ursa minor scaring away a crying blue pony in a diaper.

Standing outside the trailer was the pony it belonged to: Trixie. Or ‘the Great and Powerful Trixie’, as she also known as. Not wearing her signature hat and cape, but instead wearing a thick black cloak with the hood down. Standing in front of her were three other mares: the first was a yellow Earth Pony mare with a curly purple and yellow man, the second was a yellow Pegasus with a blue mane, and the third was a pink Unicorn with a striped purple and light-purple mane.

The three mares were laughing at Trixie, whilst the showmare herself was clearly feeling very annoyed.

“What’s the matter?” the Earth Pony asked, pointing at the graffiti art of the ursa minor. “Why don’t you just use that ‘amazing magic’ to vanquish it?”

“Maybe if we were inside her deluded little head!” the Pegasus said, clutching her stomach as she laughed in the air. “Careful guys! If we leave her alone, she might get scared and run away!”

“Then she’ll make up something to make herself feel better,” the Unicorn said, raising her hoof to her mouth to giggle. “Well, she has no other talents. She’s the only one who believes she does.”

“You want to see talent?” Trixie asked, her horn glowing and the three mares backing up ever-so-slightly in response. Rainbow Dash readied herself to cut in, before Trixie’s magic died down and she held a hoof to her head. ‘Too tired… and hungry…’ Trixie shook her head to clear the pain, only for the three mares to resume their laughter.

“Oooh, so scared!” the Pegasus cried. “Somepony, please help me from the talentless hack!”

Rainbow Dash cringed at the insult, as it reminded her of somethin from her childhood. “Hey Rainbow Crash, heard you signed up for the school’s wingball team! Didn’t anypony tell you that ya have to have talent to play wingball?”

“Come one, come all, come and see the blunders of the Weak and Powerless Trixie!” the Unicorn mare added, causing Rainbow to grind her teeth together,

“Hey look! It’s the walking disaster, Rainbow Crash! Hey Crash, this time why don’t you try staying in the air?!”

“Careful guys,” the Earth Pony cautioned her two friends. “She might use a smoke bomb and run away! Then we’ll be sorry!”

“Hah! As if!” the Pegasus responded. “If you want to leave, go ahead! Nopony will stop you!”

“Hay, we’ll be glad to see your hide hightailing it out of here!” the Unicorn added. “Let’s face it, it’s not as if anypony even wants you here!”

Rainbow Dash felt a vein popping in her forehead. “Hey Crash, just drop out already! Not like you really belong here, and it’s not like anypony’ll miss you! Hay, they’ll be glad that they can fly around without you getting in their way!”

‘I can’t take this,’ Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she sent a glare into the direction of the three mares. ‘She may be a show-off, but come on! There’s no call for saying those kind of things!’

“GAH!” Rainbow Dash gasped as she saw Trixie lunge forward and deliver a swift uppercut towards the Unicorn, sending her flying backwards and crashing down onto the ground behind her. “I-I’m bleeding!” the Unicorn cried as she pressed a hoof to her muzzle.

“What the hell?! You psycho!” the Pegasus shouted, wings flaring and teeth baring as she glared at the enraged showmare.

“You want to see what Trixie can do?” Trixie asked the Pegasus. “She can wipe the floor with your flanks, that’s what she can do!”

“Hey, break it up!” Rainbow Dash shouted, shooting forward and putting herself between the two before the fight could escalate any further. “That’s enough! There are kids here, y’know?!”

“Who are you?!” the Pegasus shouted. “Don’t tell me you’re friends with that loser!”

“Trix-”

“Shut it!” Rainbow Dash shouted, cutting Trixie off. “What’s your deal? So she couldn’t take down an ursa minor. Could you?”

The Pegasus and Earth Pony looked at each other for a second, and then back at Rainbow Dash. “It’s not just that. She lies about everything! We heard about how her ‘amazing magic’ is really just kiddy stuff she builds up.”

“Have you seen it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “‘Cause I don’t think they give out magic Cutie Marks to just anypony. Maybe you should see her stuff before you just believe every little thing you hear.” Rainbow Dash stepped forward, causing the two mares to back away. “And even if she was lying, how does that warrant this kinda treatment?!” she shouted, pointing at the graffiti on the trailer.

“W-Well, we…”

A few seconds passed, and no answer was given. “Now apologise, and get outta here!” Neither pony responded, so Rainbow Dash flared out her wings and slammed her hooves together. “I said, apologise!”

“W-We’re sorry!” the Pegasus blurted out suddenly. The Earth Pony and Unicorn nodded together in unison.

“Now go! Do something a little more productive than just making ponies feel bad!”

The three ponies turned around and left in a hurry, anxious to get away from the angry and crazy duo before they got hurt. When they were out of sight, Rainbow Dash turned around to face Trixie. “As for you-”

“What are you doing?” Trixie asked, silencing the Pegasus before her. “Trixie isn’t going to reward you, if that was your hope.”

Rainbow Dash sighed and slammed a hoof into her face. “No, I just didn’t like seeing them… bothering you like that. It wasn’t cool.”

“Oh? But it was none of your business,” Trixie said. “And in case you didn’t know, Trixie could have easily made them leave all on her own.”

“Yeah, by breaking their noses. Which I also didn’t want to see.” Rainbow Dash shook her head and hovered into the air. “Anyway, don’t you have anything nicer to say to the pony who just helped you out?”

Trixie scoffed and turned her head away. “Did Trixie ask you for help?” Rainbow Dash groaned and was about to leave, when Trixie suddenly spoke up again. “Just mind your own business, Pegasus.”

“It’s Rainbow Dash,” Rainbow corrected her. “And my business is making sure ponies aren’t being ganged up on or bullied like that.” Trixie didn’t respond to that, but instead just gave the Pegasus a deadpan stare. “I, uh… don’t like seeing stuff like that. I got bullied myself in school… and had ponies tell me I’d never amount to anything. You shouldn’t listen to them, y’know?”

“Oho? And since when did you become a Trixie supporter?”

“I didn’t,” Rainbow answered in an instant. “But I’m not so stupid that I’d forget the magic you used on me back then, or the fact that your show did go over well with the other ponies. I don’t exactly like you, but that doesn’t mean I wanna see you go down just because of one little incident.”

“Well, like Trixie said, you should mind your own business. The Great and Powerful Trixie can do just fine on her own, and she certainly does not need her enemies taking pity on her.”

Trixie’s stomach suddenly growling cut the showmare off, and caused her to blush as she pulled her cloak over her body to hide its malnourished form. “Now, if you’ll excuse the Great and Powerful Trixie, she was just about to go and have her lunch.”

Rainbow Dash watched as Trixie turned to leave, climbing up onto her trailer and opening the door to walk inside. She hadn’t said anything, but she definitely saw it. Trixie’s body, so thin that her ribs were showing. Her mane was as tidy as before, but it was also clear that it hadn’t been washed properly for a while. It had lost the shine it had the last two times Rainbow had seen it.

Rainbow remembered Trixie’s story of how her shows hadn’t been going so well, and she had just witnessed firsthoof how ponies reacted to her mere presence. ‘Is she not eating right, ‘cause she doesn’t have enough money?’

Noticing that the trailer door was left slightly ajar, Rainbow Dash decided to let her curiosity take over for a bit, and climbed up onto the trailer to take a peek through the door. Inside was not what she was expecting to see. It was dark, and dank, and there was barely anything in there at all. A sleeping bag, a small mirror, a brush, and three bottles of water.

And also, a half-eaten orange sat to the side, whilst Trixie held in her hoof a small plate with three orange slices on it. She slowly lifted one up to her mouth, and bit into it, eating slowly so as to savour the taste.

“Is that your lunch?” Rainbow Dash asked as she walked inside, startling Trixie.

“W-What are you doing in here?!” Trixie demanded, glaring at the intruder.

“Oh, sorry. I got kinda curious…” Rainbow said with a sheepish grin. “But, seriously, is that all you’re eating? Just three orange slices?”

“… Yes,” Trixie said, taking another bite of her first slice. “Not that it is any of your business, but this will tide Trixie over for the next two days.”

Rainbow’s eyes grew wide. She intended not to eat again for the next two days? Was she serious? Whether she was or not, Rainbow Dash didn’t like it. She narrowed her eyes, and walked closer, much to the showmare’s obvious annoyance. “Dude, no.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow in confusion. “‘No’? No what?” she asked.

“No, I’m not gonna just stand here and watch somepony starve themself like that!” Rainbow’s wings flared, and she grabbed the rest of the orange with her left forehoof. Trixie was about to protest, until the orange was shoved towards her face. “Eat it. The whole thing.”

Trixie grit her teeth in rage, and tried her best not to swat the orange out of Rainbow’s hoof. “Perhaps you don’t quite understand the purpose of rationing. It is to ensure survival over a long period of time, even if it means being just a little hungry during. If Trixie were to eat all of her food now, she would have nothing left and would die within, oh, a week?”

“I’ll take care of your food problem,” Rainbow Dash said, pushing the orange forward towards Trixie’s muzzle. Trixie pulled back in annoyance. “You’re not just gonna be a ‘little hungry’, y’know? Your gut’s gonna eat itself out.”

“Maybe, but what choice does Trixie have? And why should Trixie trust the likes of you, hm?”

“I’m offering you free food, what’s not to trust?”

“You and Trixie aren’t exactly on the best of terms. You could be…” Trixie stopped, and she gave the Pegasus a disgusted look as she finally caught on to her game. “You’re planning to poison Trixie, aren’t you?”

Rainbow Dash was shocked by the sudden accusation, and rather offended, too. “Get real! Why the hay would I poison you?!”

“Because you hate Trixie? Because the last two times you and Trixie met, Trixie made you look a fool, and banished your friend from town?”

“That’s no reason to kill somepony!” Rainbow shouted, now starting to lose patience herself. “I’m competitive, not insane!”

“Then why would you offer to help Trixie, and expect nothing in return, huh?!”

“Because I don’t wanna see you starve to death!” Trixie reared back at the force of Rainbow’s voice, her eyes wide with surprise. “And I think it’s quite clear that nopony else is gonna help you, so I will! Look, I know it’s not easy to trust ponies when you’re being bullied, but-”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not being bullied!” Trixie argued. “She is being heckled, and she was just about to do away with those ponies, anyway.”

“Bullied, heckled, it’s all the same thi-” Rainbow Dash stopped herself, and pulled her gaze away from Trixie’s with a nervous laugh. “… Uh, then…” ‘C’mon, think! How do I get this stubborn fool to accept my offer?’ “How about, if you let me do this as a way of saying sorry for interrupting your show that time?”

Trixie scoffed and turned her head. “We are already even for that, remember? When Trixie challenged and defeated you in front of that crowd?”

‘She considers us even? Huh, and here I was still holding a grudge…’ Rainbow paused for a moment to think of another plan. “… Wait, why exactly don’t you have any food, anyway? What happened to that job you had on that rock farm?”

“Trixie is no rock farmer!” Trixie shouted. This time, it was Rainbow Dash that was pushed back by the force of Trixie’s voice. “Trixie is a showmare! She refuses to take such a job simply because these ignorant ponies can’t accept her brilliance!”

Rainbow Dash frowned, and stepped forward again. “Well, I don’t really think you have that much choice. I mean, if you can’t perform, then-”

“Tell me, Rainbow Trash. If your wings suddenly stopped working, and you could no longer fly… would you settle for just any old job out there?”

Rainbow Dash frowned at the insult thrown her way, but ignored it so that she could answer the question. “Well, obviously it wouldn’t be easy, but-”

“And if Twilight Snarkle lost her magic, and her ability to read, and could longer be the Princess’ student or a librarian or whatever she is! Do you think she’ll just settle for any old job?”

“It wouldn’t be easy,” Rainbow Dash admitted, “But our friends would be there. They’d support us, and help us keep our spirits up. That’s what would keep us going… I think.” As she said all that, her face turned a shade of red. She couldn’t believe how sappy she was being, and just for the sake of this stubborn showmare. Yes, she hated bullying… but would she really go so far, just to help somepony who clearly didn’t want the help?

“Well then, that’s where you and I differ,” Trixie muttered, her stomach’s growling cutting her off, and forcing her to take the final bite of her first orange slice. “You could make it through such problems because your friends are there for you, but in Trixie’s case… she’d be suffering in a job she hated, a job she wasn’t meant for… and there would be no reward at the end of it. Nothing to look forward to after a hard day’s work, besides the same old pain and suffering the following morning. Tell me, why should Trixie put herself through that?”

Rainbow Dash felt a pang of sympathy pass through her as she heard the story. ‘No friends? … Boy, do I know how that feels. No wonder Fluttershy wanted us to invite Trixie to stay with us. She must have already caught on… while I just judged her without getting to know her.’

“Now leave. Trixie is trying to eat.”

Rainbow Dash looked towards the door leading outside, and noticed something. Something she hadn’t seen when she looked in earlier, because it was hidden beside the door. It was Trixie’s cape, hanging on the wall, and her hat above it. And they were both cleaner than Trixie herself was. They were torn, so she obviously used them often… but they were still very clean.

‘No matter what happens, she’s determined to do this showmare thing, huh? Even when she just gets kicked around so much, she always gets back up and tries again…’ Rainbow turned back to Trixie, who was looking at her impatiently, clearly wondering why the Pegasus hadn’t left yet. “You really won’t give up, no matter what?”

Trixie looked confused for a second. “Give up? You mean my shows?”

“Yeah.”

“… The Great and Powerful Trixie… will never quit. You ponies can kick her about all you want, but she refuses to let you win.”

Rainbow Dash felt herself grinning at Trixie’s answer. She tried not to, but she couldn’t resist it. Trixie looked even more confused by it, and even a little creeped out. “Alright then! How about this? I’ll get you some food for the next few days that I’m here, and you eat that entire orange right now!”

“Trixie already told you-”

“Hear me out!” Rainbow interrupted, her grin still on her face. “You let me do that, and in return, I’ll help you put on a show!”

“… Eh?”

“You just need one good show, right? One show to make everypony forget the ursa minor, and start to build up your reputation again.”

“… Yes. But with all the hecklers-”

“That’s where I come in!” Rainbow Dash announced. “I’ll advertise your show around Baltimare for you, and then keep all the troublemakers away! All you have to do is perform, which you can’t do on an empty stomach, so eat up already!”

Trixie still looked sceptical. “Again, why should Trixie trust you?”

“… Because I never gave up, either,” Rainbow answered. “Despite everypony being against me, there was one who believed in me, and always had my back. That one was all I needed to pick myself off the ground, and I’m sure it’s what you need, too.”

“Until you suddenly turn on me,” Trixie said under her breath. She felt a hoof under her chin, and felt her head being raised. Suddenly, she was looking into a pair of stern purple eyes.

“I’ve never betrayed anypony, and I’m not about to start now.”

Trixie gulped as she saw the fiery look in Rainbow’s eyes. She still didn’t trust Rainbow Dash. She had no reason to trust her. All she really knew about the Pegasus was that she was an arrogant show-off, like herself. But, they way that she spoke, and the look in her eyes as she assured Trixie that she wouldn’t betray her…

“… Very well then,” Trixie finally said, after a long moment of silence that she spent simply staring into the Pegasus’ eyes. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will leave it in your hooves, then. But be warned, that if you incur her wrath, you will not get off so easily.”

“Consider me warned,” Rainbow said as she released Trixie, and took a step back, her serious look replaced with a smile. “Now, eat up! I’ve gotta go make a stop somewhere, and then I’ll be back later tonight with some dinner for ya, and we’ll discuss our game plan!”

Trixie looked at the orange being offered to her once more and, with a sigh, took it into her hoof. “Very well. Just… don’t make me regret this, okay?” she said, trailing off into a mumble as she said that last part.

Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head nervously, and turned to leave. “Uh, just to let you know… I think it’s cool that you refuse to give up.”

“… Well, we seem to have that in common,” Trixie said, and for just a brief moment, Rainbow was sure that she saw a smile cross her lips. “But when you have nothing to lose, you realise that giving up isn’t really an option.”

“… Then, I’ll catch ya later,” Rainbow said as she left the trailer, and then flapped her wings to take off into the sky. As she made her way through the streets of Baltimare, she couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her head as she made that deal with Trixie. ‘It’s too late now, Dash. You said you’d help, you can’t just go back on your word now…’

With a sigh, Rainbow started to descend down to the ground, near to her father’s antique shop. “Maybe it’s cause she looked so helpless and pathetic…” Rainbow recalled how Trixie’s mane and coat didn’t look anywhere near as shiny as they did before, and the way her ribs showed through her skin, and how her flanks had lost their prior curvature-

Rainbow’s thoughts halted there, and she blushed as she found herself analysing each and every part of the showmare. The shape of her hips, the way she looked when she drew that cocky smile, how she looked cuter with the hat on than without…

“Heya kid!” Spectrum said as she walked into his store, catching Rainbow by surprise and causing her to jump. “Uh, you okay?”

“Just fine!” Rainbow said, hiding her face as she pushed all thoughts of Trixie to one side. “You, uh… You just surprised me, that’s all!”

Spectrum tilted his head and looked around. “I… do work here, don’t I? Oh dear, am I losing my mind already?” he asked, putting on a fake old stallion’s voice that made Rainbow Dash laugh. “Next thing I know you’ll be putting me in a home!”

Rainbow shook her head as she approached her father, before leaning forward to give him a hug. “Nah! You’re not quite there yet!” The two parted after a few seconds. “So, you made any progress with that mare from the café down the street?”

“You mean Lavender?” Spectrum asked.

Rainbow nodded and gave her father a coy grin. “How long ‘til I have to start calling her ‘mum’?”

Spectrum laughed and raised a hoof to his daughter’s head, roughing up her mane and causing her to back away quickly. “Sorry kid, but I don’t think I’m quite ready to tie the knot again just yet.”

“But, you two are great together!” Rainbow Dash protested. “I’ve seen the way she makes you smile. Only mum could do better than that! And besides…” Rainbow grinned again as she walked over to her father’s counter and sat herself down on it. “I really think you should get married now. Like, before my birthday comes up.”

“You’ll still get the same amount of presents either way,” Spectrum told his daughter, causing her to frown and let out a mock whine. “Anyway, if either of us should be worrying about finding a partner, it should be you. You’re not exactly getting any younger, and I’m starting to worry I’ll never get to meet my grandkids.”

“Dad!” Rainbow Dash shouted, hopping off of the store’s counter and giving her father an un-amused stare.

“Hey, don’t blame me! I’ve got to play the part for your mother as well as myself.” Clearing his throat, Spectrum continued. “Now honey, I’m sure she’ll find a partner when she’s ready. But dear, look at her! It’s time she settled down! Hey, don’t forget that I was her age when I found you.”

Rainbow’s laughter cut the stallion off, and he joined her soon afterwards. After a full minute of laughter, the two finally began to settle down, and Spectrum walked over to a nearby cabinet where a coffee pot was resting. “But seriously though, is there somepony in your life I should be giving the ‘father talk’ to yet?”

“Not yet,” Rainbow Dash said, walking over to help her father with the coffee. This was perhaps the only time she was willing to drink the stuff, if only because she had pestered her father in the past to cut down on the alcohol.

“Really? Not even that Lightning Dust girl you told me about?”

“Pfft, please,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “I mean, she’s cool an’ all, but she’s been on my back ever since I became Lead Pony and she got demoted to Wingpony. Anyway, I don’t think she’s looking to settle down either.”

“Oh?”

“Well, just a guess, since she seems to have a new marefriend every week.”

Spectrum whistled and switched the coffee machine on. It began to clunk and grind, filling the store with a noise that neither pony was sure it should make. Still, they knew next to nothing about preparing coffee, so they just assumed that was the way it was meant to be. “So, she’s a player then. Sounds like somepony I used to know, back when you were just a teenager…”

Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head. “Yeah, okay. So I used to hit on lots of ponies too.”

“A bit of an understatement,” Spectrum said. “I tell you, that year, your mother would not stop worrying about you the entire time. I even had to talk her out of hiring a private eye to follow you around.”

“For real?” Rainbow Dash asked, receiving a nod from her father. “Well, I’m not the same as back then. And I’m not just gonna settle down with just anypony.”

“And I’m thankful for that,” Spectrum said, extending a wing around his daughter’s back and pulling her closer towards him. As he expected, she made a gagging expression with her face and ‘tried’ to pull away, only to ‘reluctantly’ give up and accept her father’s affectionate hug. “You just go at your own pace, Dash. Like I always said, it’s not enough to be fast. You’ve gotta make pit stops along the way, and really take in your surroundings.”

“Yeah… Spitfire tells me that all the time,” Rainbow Dash said, before glancing up at the clock and feeling like she was forgetting something. ‘Oh, right! Trixie!’ Rainbow wondered to herself for a moment how she was going to go about this. She had already made arrangements to spend some time with her dad, but she couldn’t just leave Trixie after finally convincing her to go along with that deal of hers. Not only would it be uncool, but she would be leaving the mare to starve with no food left.

“Something wrong?” Spectrum asked as the coffee machine began to quiet down, telling him that it was done. “You have that look like you’re doing homework.”

“Oh, har, har,” Rainbow Dash said, walking over to a cupboard to retrieve two coffee mugs. “It’s just… well, listen, I’m gonna be here for a few days, right?” Spectrum nodded as his daughter walked back over to him. “So, would it… be okay if I have dinner with a friend tonight?” Referring to Trixie as a friend made Rainbow Dash want to gag, but it was certainly an easier way to explain the situation to him than going into all the little details about how the showmare really was.

“A friend? You mean Gilda?” Spectrum asked, causing Rainbow to gasp and back away.

“W-What? Why would it be… I-I already told you, we’re not friends anymore!”

“Oh, sorry!” Spectrum said quickly. “It’s just, the look in your eyes kinda made me think… So, you two are still fighting, huh?” For a moment, Spectrum was really hoping that the two had put their differences behind them and made up. After all, they had been such good friends before, and it hurt the stallion whenever he saw the look in his daughter’s eyes when she talked about the griffon.

“… Anyway,” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the awkward silence that had formed between them, “This is just somepony I haven’t seen in a while, who I just happened to… bump into… in town. I kinda made dinner plans with her without thinking, so-”

“It’s okay,” Spectrum said with a smile. “Dash, you visit me so often, and like you said, we’ll be spending the next few days together. If it’s a friend you haven’t seen for a while, you should go and spend some time with them.”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback, but recovered moments later and gave her father a smile as she handed over the two coffee mugs to him. “Wow, you’re truly the most awesome dad ever!”

Spectrum chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “Well, I try, y’know?”

“Right, I’ll make it to you tomorrow, okay?”

Spectrum handed over one of the mugs, now filled with nice warm coffee, to his daughter. “Just be back by sundown, you hear?”

“I’m not a kid! I’ll stay out as long as I want!” Rainbow shouted with a glare, holding it for as long as she could… before both ponies broke out into laughter once more, almost dropping their coffee mugs in the process.

Trixie grumbled as she heard the sound of something knocking against wood. She stirred a little in her sleep, rolling around off of her sleeping bag and onto the many papers covering the floor. The knocking returned, and she instinctively reached for her pillow to cover her head. When she couldn’t find it, the sleeping showmare finally awoke and open her eyes.

“Hey! You in there or what?!”

Trixie turned her head towards her trailer door and simply stared at it for a few seconds. After some moments of thought, she realised that the voice belonged to the Pegasus who had visited her earlier. “What?” she asked, quickly followed by a yawn as she rubbed her eye.

“Uh, I said I’d be back with dinner, remember?” Trixie’s stomach growled at the mention of food, and she hoped that the Pegasus didn’t hear that outside. “C’mon, open up already!”

“… One second.” Trixie closed her eyes and focussed her magic. The orange from earlier had given her enough strength to cast a little magic without it hurting her too much. She cast a simple sensory spell to see how many ponies were outside. When she found that there was only the one, she cancelled the spell and used her magic to unlock her door. “Come in.”

The door opened and Rainbow Dash walking inside, carrying a plastic bag in her mouth. She dropped it on the floor and jumped a little as she heard the door slam shut behind her. “… So…”

“So…” Trixie looked over at the plastic bag. “What’ve you got?”

Rainbow opened up the bag and spilled the contents. “I noticed you don’t have a microwave or anything, so I brought one over and got some cups of instant noodles at the store. And look, they’re still sealed, so no poison,” she added with a grin, which made the showmare frown.

“We’ll see. You’re taste-testing everything Trixie eats.”

“Darn it!” Rainbow Dash shouted, hitting the floor with her hoof. When she noticed the glare being sent her way, she sighed and flapped her wings once. “A joke! Can’t you lighten up a bit?”

“… A year of having enemies all around you tends to make one trade in their sense of humour for a sense of danger,” Trixie said, reaching towards the microwave and plugging it into a wall socket. She hadn’t used electrical appliances in a long time, so her trailer’s battery was still mostly full. “However, if you wanted to attack Trixie you would have done so by now. Trixie doubts you’re so stupid as to miss such an opportunity and give her a chance to flee.”

“Right, so stop being so paranoid already! I just wanna help you get back on your hooves, and show those jerks you’re not out yet!” Rainbow’s eyebrow raised as she noticed all of the papers littering the floor of the trailer. She reached down and picked one of them up. “What’s this?”

“Fliers,” Trixie answered as she placed one of the cups of noodles into the microwave. “Since Trixie had nothing better to do, she decided to draw up some of the fliers that will advertise her upcoming performance.”

“Uh… Well, that’s good and all, but… I never said I’d be performing with you,” Rainbow Dash said, turning the flier around and pointing a hoof at the part that showed a crudely drawn picture of herself, with the words ‘RAINBOW DASH’ written below it.

“But of course you will,” Trixie said. “What, did you think you’d dress up in some suit with a pair of shades and throw away anypony who tried to make a scene?”

“Well, not exactly like that…”

“Whilst it is a good idea, it only work if Trixie has the vast majority of the crowd already on her side anyway. No, we’re going to have to be a little more sneaky if we want to keep the crowd from booing Trixie off right from the get-go.”

“And that means me performing with you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Against Trixie,” Trixie answered with a grin. “At least, that’s how it will start off. Ponies will come to watch you challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie, expecting you to show her up quickly and give everypony a good laugh! They’ll watch as Trixie does not give up, and puts up a valiant fight. Soon, they’ll forget their original reasons for coming and will simply marvel at the spectacular show that you and I put on, and with that we can start to meld our performances together, putting on a combined aerial and magic show the likes of which Equestria has never seen! And then-” Trixie stopped as she noticed the Pegasus staring at her with an amused look on her face. “What?”

“You’ve… really thought about this, haven’t you?”

Trixie flicked her mane. “Well, performing is Trixie’s speciality.”

Rainbow Dash let out a laugh, but stifled it quickly. “Sorry, it’s just, you were so insistent on me leaving you alone earlier and not letting anypony help you out. Why the sudden change of heart?”

Trixie’s face reddened as she suddenly realised how talkative she had just been. “W-Well, Trixie can just see that you’re not a threat, that’s all! If you’re really fine with spending your time with Trixie, then who am I to stop you?”

“Just one problem, though,” Rainbow Dash said, moving her hoof down to the date written on the paper. “This says that you’ll be performing tomorrow.”

Trixie nodded. “The sooner the better.”

Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head. “You’re gonna perform when you’re hungry, and dirty, and…” Rainbow raised her head and sniffed the air around her. “… Smell really bad?”

Trixie’s blush intensified, but this time it was accompanied by a heated glare. “Well, what would you have Trixie do?”

“Uh, it’s called a bath? You’ve heard of it, right?”

Trixie huffed and turned her head away. “The only bathing that Trixie has done this past year has been in lakes and the like. If she’s lucky, she may find herself with access to shampoo. The one exception was the short time Trixie spent in Ponyville, of course.”

Rainbow Dash thought back to that particular event, remembering how she had forced Rarity and Fluttershy to wash her body, whilst she forced Spike to give her a massage. “Huh. When you put it that way, I can kinda see why you were like that…”

“That was the amulet!” Trixie shouted, startling Rainbow Dash. Trixie quickly turned her gaze to the floor. “… Well, even if Trixie wasn’t corrupted, with that kind of power, it would have been hard to pass up such luxury after a year of… this.”

Rainbow looked at the down showmare who was now staring at the floor in complete and utter silence. Rainbow Dash was never really a very huggy pony, and only made special exceptions with her closest friends, and even then, only on super special occasions. However, right now, she found herself wanting to just move in and comfort Trixie by wrapping her wings around her.

She quickly shook that thought away and mentally slapped herself. ‘What the hay am I thinking?! Why would I want to do that for somepony like her?!’

“Anyway,” Trixie said, raising her head back up, “A bath will not help Trixie any, so-”

“Alright, then here’s what we’ll do!” Rainbow Dash interrupted, much to the annoyance of the other mare. “The show will take place the day after tomorrow! No, make that two days after tomorrow. That gives ponies a little more notice. Not to mention gives me time to actually learn the routine you have planned.”

“… Fair point,” Trixie said.

“And tomorrow, the two of us are gonna go down to the spa together! I’m not really a fan of that stuff, but since you don’t have a bathtub here it’ll have to do.”

“Wait, don’t you have a bathtub?”

Rainbow Dash, for reasons beyond her, found herself giving Trixie a sly grin. “Oh? You wanna come ‘round mine and use soak in my tub?” A moment later, Rainbow’s eyes widened. ‘W-Why am I making such stupid jokes?’

“Well, it would be cheaper,” Trixie said, causing Rainbow Dash to sigh at the fact that she apparently missed the teasing tone in her voice.

“Uh, yeah, but…” Rainbow tired to think of an excuse as to why she couldn’t use the bathtub at her father’s house. Then real reason was that she felt embarrassed to bring the showmare over, which then triggered the question in her mind: why was she so embarrassed with the idea of letting Trixie meet her father? Regardless, she just was, so she tried to come up with an excuse off of the top of her head. “Uh… Roaches! Yep, got a real bad… roach… problem, right now…”

“Oh. Is that so?” Trixie asked.

“Y-Yeah. Sure is.” Trixie nodded, and Rainbow Dash sighed. “So, yeah. I’ll come visit you around three in the afternoon, and we’ll go to the spa to get you washed and looking presentable.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie always looks presentab-”

“And you hat and cape, too,” Rainbow Dash interjected, grinning as she saw Trixie pouting before her.

“Do not interrupt the Great and Powerfu-”

“Gotta find somepony to fix ‘em up a little bit. We want you to look your best during your show.”

“Stop interrupting Trixie!” Trixie shouted, causing Rainbow Dash to laugh once more. “Stop laughing at once!” Rainbow’s laughter continued for a full minute, with Trixie fuming at first, and then slowly calming down as she finally decided to start up the microwave as she waited. “Done now?” Trixie asked as the Pegasus slowed to a stop.

“For now,” Rainbow Dash replied. “So, that’s our game plan!”

Trixie sighed and opened the microwave door as the timer hit zero. “Well, Trixie is hardly going to say ‘no’ to a free bath. Even if it is with a ruffian tomboy like you.”

“Great, so it’s a date then!” Rainbow Dash said, although as soon as she did she found herself blushing at her own words. She saw that Trixie was also blushing, and they both averted their eyes from each other and sat in silence, save for the sound of Trixie fiddling with her chopsticks in her magic. “Uh… S-So, we should get to work on correcting these fliers, then.”

“Yeah… But first…” Trixie levitated her noodles and chopsticks over to Rainbow Dash, who gave her a confused look for a second. “Taste-test,” she reminded her, earning an exasperated sigh from the Pegasus.

“I already ate on the way here,” Rainbow Dash said as she saw the chopsticks move into the cup and pull out some noodles.

“You should have thought about that before trying poison Trixie,” Trixie said with a grin.

“I’m not trying to-” Rainbow Dash started, but stopped herself when she realised that there was no way out of it. “Fine, whatever. Let’s just get this over with so we can start work on correcting these fliers.”

Trixie used her magic to feed the noodles to Rainbow Dash. Whilst Trixie didn’t think much of it, Rainbow Dash found herself feeling embarrassed at the thought of the showmare feeding her, and thanked the stars that nopony was around to see her.

“See? No poison.”

“Give it time,” Trixie said. “Some poisons take time to kick in, and you may have the antidote with you.”

Rainbow Dash snapped at that. She tried to keep her cool, but now she felt that Trixie was just being ridiculous. “There’s no antidote! There’s no poison! Just. EAT!”

After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Rainbow Dash shot Trixie a heated glare to show that she was serious. However, what she got in response was not what she was expecting. Trixie was grinning, and barely containing her laughter as she brought her noodles and chopsticks back over to herself.

“A joke,” Trixie said, confusing Rainbow Dash even more. “Grow a sense of humour, won’t you?”

Rainbow wasn’t sure how to react to that. What to say, what to do, or what to think. She saw Trixie eating the noodles with a huge smile on her face. They were just cheap noodles from a nearby convenience store, but they seemed to be giving the showmare so much joy. The sight made Rainbow Dash both smile, and feel bad.

“Whatever,” the Pegasus mumbled to herself. “I’ll just help her out, and then I’m outta here…” She took one last look up at Trixie, and then back down at the fliers. ‘… After making sure this plan of hers works, that is.’

4 - The Case Of The Missing Colt

The train’s PA system rang throughout the cars, alerting the passengers within that the train was nearing its next stop: the Foal Mountain station. The announcement caused Rainbow Dash to stir about on the bench she was lying down and let out a loud yawn.

“Tired much?” Trixie asked as she looked up from her crossword puzzle, having given up on solving it about ten minutes ago in favour of glaring at it and silently whispering death threats to whoever made the darn thing. “What, you didn’t sleep well last night?”

“… Eh, it was alright. I just get so bored on these things…” Rainbow Dash said, sitting up straight and looking outside the window to her left.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie slept pleasantly, thank you for asking,” Trixie said after a long moment of silence.

“Yeah, I got that,” Rainbow said, shuddering as she recalled her encounter with Trixie at the train station earlier that day. It was clear that Trixie had slept well and was feeling very energetic that morning, and that she was also in the mood for a quick repeat of last night’s activities. Of course, Rainbow Dash wasn’t too pleased that this was how she had to introduce Trixie to her father, but at least he seemed okay with it…

“Your father’s a cool guy,” Trixie said, placing down her crossword and grinning at her new marefriend. “With a lot of interesting stories.”

“I thought I told you to forget everything you heard,” Rainbow said quickly, in a harsh tone.

“Too bad he could never show Trixie the pictures he told her about. Trixie would have loved to see what baby Dashie looked like.” Rainbow’s glare intensified as Trixie’s grin grew wider and wider. “Hey, at least he accepts our relationship, right? I mean, after the initial, what, fifteen minute freak-out? He seemed pretty cool with it after that.”

Rainbow’s expression softened and she lay back down, resting her head against her hooves. “Dad’s always been a super laidback guy. My grandma tried to force him into joining the Royal Guard, so he always tried to give me as much freedom as I wanted. He only ever gets strict when I do something majorly illegal.”

“‘Majorly’?” Trixie asked, wondering where exactly the line was supposed to be drawn.

“Yeah. Like, drunken flying is fine, but theft is just not cool.”

Trixie hummed as she thought about it in her head. “Well then, you probably won’t be happy to hear that’s mostly how Trixie has been surviving this past year.”

Rainbow grimaced and turned to face Trixie. “Well… I guess you couldn’t really help it. You… didn’t steal too much, right?”

Trixie put a hoof to her chain. “Does robbing a bank count?” She saw Rainbow’s eyes widen, and quickly burst into laughter. “Oh, please! You think Trixie would have been rationing an orange if she had robbed a bank?”

“Then what did you steal?”

“Oh, you know. Food, in towns with little security. Water, from travelling merchants.” Trixie leaned forward and gave the Pegasus a sly grin, making her feel a little uneasy. “You.”

“Blech!” Rainbow gagged, sticking her tongue out of her mouth. “C’mon, that was just terrible!”

“Awwww… Is Dashie embarrassed by a little affection?”

“And stop calling me that! It’s too… sappy…” Rainbow Dash turned her head away as she felt her face heating up. “At least just stick to ‘Dash’ or something.”

“‘Stick to Dashie’? Well, if you insist.” Trixie jumped off of her own bench opposite to Rainbow Dash and sat down on the floor in front of her marefriend, before leaning over and resting her head on the Pegasus’ body, treating it as if it were a pillow. “Hmmm… Perhaps Trixie shall take a nap after all…”

“Oh, come on!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she rolled around. “You know that isn’t what I said!”

“Can’t hear you, don’t care,” Trixie said as she snuggled deeper into Rainbow’s said. “Dashie, have you ever considered becoming a fulltime pillow? You might just be the most comfortable thing the Great and Powerful Trixie has ever rested her head on.”

“Alright, alright! Get off already!” Rainbow shouted as she reached forward to push Trixie back, pushing her horn as it was the only thing within reach at the time. “And no smart comments on how I said that last night!”

Trixie, however, was too stunned by the sudden contact against her horn to make such a comment. A jolt passed through her body upon the contact, and she could not hold back a pleasant yelp as she quickly backed away from the oblivious Pegasus. “Dash! In public, of all places?!” Trixie asked, her face now burning and glowing a bright red as she reached her forehooves up to guard her horn.

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by the sudden outburst. She was not expecting such a reaction, but now that she had received it, she could see an opening to turn the tables on this showmare. “Oh? You mean it’s true that Unicorn horns are… sensitive?”

Trixie’s face scrunched up as she detected the teasing tone in Rainbow’s voice. “Well, not all of them. But Trixie’s is- AH! NO!”

“Too late,” Rainbow said as she rolled off of her bench, now standing on her hooves and approaching Trixie with a sultry look on her face.

“W-Wait! You can’t be thinking of doing such things here, can you? …”

“Oh, no,” Rainbow said as she finished closing in on Trixie, grabbing the showmare’s hooves with her own and using her superior physical strength to move them away. “Just gonna remember it for later, that’s all. Well, maybe a little taste, for now…” She leaned in and gave the horn a quick lick, finding that it actually tasted rather nice. Like blueberries, which was made even more amusing to Rainbow Dash based on Trixie’s blue-coloured coat.

Trixie felt another jolt through her body, this one much more powerful than the last, and fired a quick teleportation spell to get away. In doing so, she appeared in the middle of a running stallion’s path, who collided with Trixie without much warning.

Rainbow watched as a grey coated Earth Pony stallion with a short brown tail and a bowler hat concealing his mane, crashed into Trixie’s side, knocking her over. The stallion himself seemed to be fine after the collision.

After knocking the sudden mare in front of him the floor, the stallion stopped to help her up, extending a hoof for her to hold. “Oh my, I’m sorry about that Ms.! I was in a hurry you see, and-”

Trixie batted the offered hoof away and pushed herself to her hooves, righting her lopsided hat and brushing the dust off of her coat. “You shouldn’t be running around like that inside a train! What are you, five?!”

The stallion flinched and took a step back. “Again, I’m terribly sorry. But you see, my son is missing somewhere on this train, and I’ve searched all over but cannot find him!”

“How old’s your son?” Rainbow Dash asked. The stallion responded by taking out a photograph of himself, a mare, and a small colt that looked vaguely familiar to Rainbow Dash. He had a white coat with a few brown spots, a short brown tail, a combed-back brown mane, very fancy clothes… “AH! That’s Pip!”

“You know my son?!” the stallion asked as he put the picture away.

“Yeah, I pranked him last Nightmare Night! Man, you should’ve seen the look on his face!” Rainbow laughed as she recalled the event, bringing a confused look to the stallion’s face. When she calmed down, she said: “Man, he looks so much different in that photo!”

The stallion nodded. “Yes. I let him dress like that for Nightmare Night only. Our family has quite an image to keep, after all. Oh, I’m sorry, we haven’t been introduced. My name is Earl Grey. My friends call me Pap Squeak.” Earl Grey offers his hoof to Rainbow Dash. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. …”

“Rainbow Dash,” Rainbow said, returning the stallion’s offer with a hoofbump. Earl Grey seemed confused by the shortest hoofshake he had ever received, whilst Trixie was snickering. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the laughing mare. “And that’s Trixie.”

“Right, well, I’m sorry again, but I really have to find my son. Our stop is coming up soon!”

“You sure he’s not looking for you, and your moving around is making it harder for him?” Rainbow asked.

Early Grey shook his head. “I’m positive! I told him to meet me back at the lunch car thirty minutes ago! He’s always been so punctual, usually arriving early just in case! Something must have happened to him, I just know it!”

“Easy!” Rainbow said to the hyperventilating pony. “Deep breaths now. Trixie, you were actually awake this whole time. Did you see anything?”

Trixie put a hoof to her chin as she tried to recall her journey. Her minds quickly started to drift to images of the lunch car, which only served to remind her that she hadn’t eaten yet today. As she pictured all the wonderful foods that should be on display out there, her stomach began to rumble. With the bits she received from the previous day’s show, she would actually be able to afford to-

“Trixie?” Trixie snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Rainbow’s voice. “Well?”

“Uh, Trixie cannot say that she did,” Trixie said, earning a sigh from both the stallion and Rainbow Dash. “But, perhaps we could help you look for him.”

“We could?” Rainbow asked, still feeling a little tired and not sure if she wanted to go look around the train for a child who had probably just lost track of time.

“Of course. Weren’t you complaining earlier about how boring train rides are? Well, now we have something to do.”

“Please, if you can find my son, I would be so grateful,” Earl Grey said to Trixie.

“Say no more! Dashie, you go with Earl Grey here and search down that way.” Trixie pointed down the path that Earl Grey was running in when he bumped into her. “Trixie will take the opposite direction, in case you just happened to miss your son in your haste.”

“Very well. If you find him, please take him to the lunch car and wait for me there.”

Trixie nodded and tipped her hat. “But of course. Well then, see you later Dash!” Trixie galloped down the train car before Rainbow Dash could say anything to her. As she ran, she licked her lips. Already she could taste the apple fritters and cinnamon waffles.

The lunch car was not quite as glamorous as Trixie was expecting it to be, and the food there didn’t look or smell all that appealing, either. The apple fritters crumbled far too easily, the cinnamon waffles barely tasted cinnamon at all, and the hay fries were clearly undercooked. All-in-all, a huge disappointment for the showmare who had never seen the inside of a train except for in films before.

As Rainbow Dash entered the lunch car and looked around, sure enough, she found Trixie sitting at one of the tables, nursing a hay smoothie and examining herself in a small pocket mirror. “I knew it!” Rainbow said as she approached the showmare’s table, startling Trixie and almost causing her to choke on her drink. “I knew you were just gonna come here and stuff your face!”

Trixie harrumphed as she watched Rainbow Dash take a seat opposite to her. “Well, excuse Trixie if she was merely hungry after a lengthy search for this colt who may or may not even exist!”

“So you’re saying you actually searched high and low for him then?” Rainbow asked as she reached over and grabbed a few chips from Trixie’s basket.

Trixie used her magic to pull the basket closer to herself and further away from Rainbow Dash. “And even somewhere in the middle. I’m telling you, that colt does not exist.”

“You mean the one right behind you?”

“Where?!” Trixie quickly spun around, scanning her eyes across the entire lunch car. When she heard the sounds of laughter behind her, she knew that she had just been tricked by the crafty Pegasus and was about to turn back to give her a piece of her mind, when suddenly… “Huh, you were right.”

Rainbow’s laughter stopped, in favour of giving the back of Trixie’s head a deadpan stare. “Yeah, nice try. I’m gonna fall for-”

“No, really,” Trixie said, turning back and moving her head aside so that Rainbow Dash could see. “He’s right over there…”

Rainbow’s eyes widened as she saw that Pip was indeed behind Trixie, sitting at a table with three stallions, all in trench coats, and all wearing hats and fedora hats. “What? But Pap said that he wasn’t here!”

Trixie shrugged. “He must have missed him. Or perhaps he got lost and those three escorted him here, and are now waiting for their reward.”

“… I don’t think so,” Rainbow Dash said. “He looks kinda nervous… Scared, even.”

Trixie turned back to face the colt behind her, who was shaking in his seat as she stared down at the table he was at, his eyes wide and his pupils were shrunk to the size of pinpricks. “… Something doesn’t seem right about all this.”

“No duh. I’m gonna go check this out.”

“You’re going to stay right there and not move.” Rainbow Dash stopped rising as she felt something pressed against her back. Something cold. Something metallic. A mare’s voice accompanied it. “Where’s Earl Grey?”

“Who are you?” Rainbow Dash asked, remaining perfectly still as she felt the object being pressed into her back. “What are you doing with Pipsqueak over there?”

“Just stay quiet, and nopony has to get hurt.” Trixie watched as the mare behind Rainbow Dash, whose face was hidden beneath a black veil, turn to face her. “You there, go and bring Sir- Earl Grey here.”

“And if Trixie refuses?” Trixie asked coolly before taking a sip of her drink.

“Perhaps you don’t see this in my hoof?” the mare asked as she pulled her hoof back, revealing nothing but air. “What?!”

“You mean this?” Trixie asked as she held up a small metal rod. “Sorry, was this yours? You can have it back.” Releasing the rod, a purple light surrounded it and suspended it in the air for a second, before the rod launched forward and struck the mare’s shoulder.

Rainbow Dash took the opening to spin around and kick the mare in the face, sending her flying backwards and crashing into another couple’s table. As she did so, the stallions seated with Pip turned around to see what the commotion was all about, only to see a purple light moving quickly their way.

Trixie laughed and stepped forward as her magic suspended the three stallions in the air. “Well, Trixie was going to suggest something more subtle, but I suppose that this works too.”

“W-What are you doing?! Release us at once!” one of the stallions demanded.

“Nice work Trix!” Rainbow complimented as she walked up to Trixie’s side. “Pip, are you okay?”

“Uh…” Pip looked at the three stallions nervously for a second, before suddenly being lifted out of his chair by Rainbow Dash. “W-Wait! Miss Rainbow Dash, I-”

“It’s okay. You’re safe now.” Rainbow Dash shot a glare at the stallion that was sitting next to Pipsqueak. “You three, on the other hoof…”

“How shall we deal with them?” Trixie asked, sending a deviant grin the Pegasus’ way. “Perhaps you have a request for the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Easy, Trix,” Rainbow said as she lowered Pip to the floor. “Let’s at least get the kid to his dad first.”

“Pipsqueak!” The two mares and one colt turned around at the sound of Earl Grey’s voice behind them. “There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you! Where have you been?”

“P-Papa… I was-”

“Fear no longer,” Trixie told the stallion as he approached his son. “The Great and Powerful Trixie, and Dash here…” Trixie gestured her head to the Pegasus standing beside her, who shot her a sidelong glare in return. “… Were both able to successfully stop this attempted abduction of your son.”

“Abduction?!” Early Grey shouted in shock, looking over to the three stallions suspended in midair. “… Helping Hoof, what is the meaning of this?”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash looked between the two stallions. “You mean, you know these guys?”

“I sure do. Helping Hoof, Fine Cuisine, and Hawk Eye are all my servants, whom I have paid to look after and protect my son!” The two mares looked at the three stallions in shock for a second. “Now I hear you were attempting to abduct him? After all I have done for you, this is how you repay-”

“I asked them to!” Pipsqueak shouted, silencing his father and gaining his attention. “I asked them to stage a foalnapping, papa. I-I’m sorry…”

“Pip…” Earl Grey lowered to his haunches to talk to his son at eyelevel. “Why would you do such a thing, boy?”

“Because, you’re always busy with work, or out at meetings, and you’re always leaving me behind and cancelling our plans together. And when was the last time you watched one of my piano recitals?”

“Pip, I know it’s hard, but I promise you, things will be better soon.” Earl Grey leaned forward to hug his son. “I’m sorry, Pip. Just give me a little more time… We can spend a lot more time together soon, but with your mother gone, I have to work twice as hard to clear this huge debt by myself. Otherwise, I’ll risk losing you, too.”

“… P-Papa… I’m sorry…”

“I’m sorry too, son…”

Whilst the train car filled with ‘aww’s and the sounds of pony sniffing back their tears, Rainbow Dash simply averted her eyes from the spectacle, putting on a cool face to her marefriend. “Eh, all’s well that ends well, I suppose.” Rainbow noticed Trixie grinning her way. “… What?”

“… You can cry, y’know?” Trixie said in a teasing tone, leaning in closer. “A little sympathy won’t kill you.”

“Pfft! Get real. I don’t do sappy,” Rainbow Dash declared, folding her forelegs and turning away.

“Um, excuse me.” Trixie turned her attention back to the stallions being suspended in her magical aura. “If it is not too much trouble, perhaps, you could let us down now?”

“And call a doctor to look at Rosemary, too.”

“Rosemary?” Trixie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, Master Pipsqueak’s maid. She’s, uh… over there, on top of that table.”

Trixie’s eyes shot open as she remembered the mare that had approached herself and Rainbow Dash before they confronted the three stallions. Spinning around quickly, she could see many ponies gathering around the unconscious mare on the collapsed table. “… Oops…”

“Oh my gosh, we’re so, so sorry about that!” Rainbow Dash quickly told Earl Grey, who simply waved his hoof dismissively at the two.

“I’m sure it’s fine. Rosemary is always getting into accidents and hurting herself, and I’m sure she was just taking her little role as Pipsqueak’s foalnapper too far. So I won’t press charges…”

“Cool! Sweet! Well then, we had best be on our way, don’t you think so Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash nodded quickly as she flapped her wings to lift up into the air. “Yeah, I guess you guys wanna spend some father-son time together. We’ll just be getting’ out of your hair now.”

One smoke bomb later, and the two mares vanished from sight, along with the magic that was keeping the three stallions in the air. Early Grey looked around, but couldn’t find any sight of either Rainbow Dash or Trixie.

“Huh… That’s a shame. I was going to pay them for their troubles…”

“Man, I’m beat now!” Rainbow Dash declared as she lay back down onto her bench, yawning loudly and stretching her hooves outwards. “And still another two hours until we get to Ponyville.”

Trixie groaned as she watched the Pegasus closing her eyes and preparing to take yet another nap. “You are truly the most useless travel companion ever. Trixie was hoping we could have some fun before we arrived at your town.”

“Maybe later. Sleep first.”

Trixie paused for a moment, and then shrugged. “Very well then. The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to go to the restroom. If you wish to join her, you have five minutes.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as she watched the showmare walk away. ‘‘Join her’? Why would I want to-’ Then it hit her. What Trixie was inviting Rainbow Dash to do behind a closed door, in a cramped space, in private… away from prying eyes… ‘… Two hours to kill? I got plenty of time to sleep.’

With a grin, Rainbow Dash jumped off of her bench and walked nonchalantly through the train car, following the direction that Trixie had went moments earlier.

Author's Note

Chapter four was originally supposed to take place when Trixie and Rainbow Dash arrive in Ponyville. This has now been moved to chapter five, and I made this little extra chapter as an apology for the update taking so long (didn't feel that long, I swear :S).

Also, credit to my friend Navi for coming up with the name Pap Squeak for Pipsqueak's dad. I liked both Pap Squeak and Earl Grey, so I decided to incorporate both :P

17 - An Epic Adventure (Game)! (Part I)

The door to the Golden Oaks Library creaked open and let in the light from outside, along with the caped figure of a blue mare glancing around the library’s interior. She checked each corner of the room before she gave a shrug and entered. “Anypony home?” Her response was met with only silence. “Guess not… Oh well! Trixie will just have to search through all of these books by herself! It would just be a shame if she were to accidentally come across Twilight’s diary in the process!” Still no response came. “Good, nopony’s here,” Trixie said as she quickly shut the door behind herself.

She wandered around the room, checking the genres of each area until she came across the on labelled ‘Children’s Section’. She glanced to both sides once more before closing in on the literature, scanning through the books’ spines for the title she was looking for. Minty’s Great Adventure entered her vision and Trixie could not contain an excited gasp as she pulled the book out.

“It is here! Trixie hasn’t been read this in so long…” Trixie lifted her cape to reveal her saddlebags and placed the book inside. “Trixie is certain that Twilight won’t notice one book missing… Perhaps she should fill the gap though, just to be safe.”

Trixie looked around and found a pile of books in the corner. They were resting inside a box labelled ‘donations’, so Trixie could only assume that they were going to be collected for charity later in the week. “I only intend to have this book for the day,” Trixie said quietly to herself as she lifted the top book in the pile with her magic. “Trixie will return to make the switch later when Twilight out for dinner. Hm?” Trixie eyes fell on the second book in the pile. The front cover contained a black skull with horns protruding from each side and six magical circles that Trixie recognised from her training.

“These are the symbols of the six classes of magic – Lo, La, Ho, Je, Ki, and Ma. She’s donating an ancient tome to charity?” Trixie placed the first book into the open space and picked up the second one, opening it up and reading what was inside. “Oh, it’s not a tome. It’s an RPG adventure book…” Trixie flipped the page and read the introductory paragraphs.

The world is plagued by the Dark Lord. Our efforts are all in vain. We have not the power to drive this tyrant back to Tartarus from whence he came – but maybe somepony else does. Maybe our hero of light will come to us-

Trixie jumped as she heard the door creak open behind her and she closed the book quickly as she turned to face whoever was there. “Trixie?” Twilight asked as she entered, Spike following behind her with a bag full of groceries.

“Oh! Twilight! Fancy seeing you here!”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I live here.”

“Er, right you are! T-Trixie was simply browsing your collection of magical tomes whilst she was waiting for you to return!”

Twilight glanced to the shelf beside her, which was at the opposite end of the room to Trixie. “You were searching through my magical books from all the way over there?”

Trixie gulped. “I, uh… have good vision?”

“Hey, those are the books Twilight’s giving away!” Spike said as he pointed to the pile of books behind Trixie. “You can’t have those!”

Trixie worked her brain quickly as she felt cornered. “Oh, is that so? Trixie didn’t know that.”

“It quite clearly says ‘donations’ on the box,” Twilight pointed out.

“Trixie was… distracted.” Trixie glanced at the book behind her back and brought it out with her magic. “By this.”

“That’s one of the books I was giving away,” Twilight said as she approached at the book and looked at the cover. “It was here when I moved in and it was just gathering dust this whole time. I figured the foals in Manehatten would enjoy it.” Twilight raised her eyes to look past the book and at Trixie. “Did you want to borrow it?”

“Oh, not particularly. Trixie just saw the cover and it caught her interest…”

“Well I have to admit I was rather curious about it myself. But I could never find anypony to play it with, so I feared I would never get to see how it ended.”

“You could just skip to the end,” Spike suggested as he walked towards the kitchen.

“That would be cheating, though,” Twilight said.

Trixie nodded in agreement. “These kinds of books should only be read as you play through them. Much like a personality quiz should be answered truthfully, not to earn a specific result, or how one should not read their own fortunes and have another read it for them.”

“Well, at least somepony sees where I’m coming from,” Twilight said with a smile. “I take it you’re into these kinds of books, then?”

“They were a great source of entertainment growing up, and sometimes would prove educational. Trixie actually passed a test once thanks to knowledge she had picked up from one of these books.”

“I’ve played a few of these with my brother,” Twilight said. “Sometimes I would read through some on my own, but this one requires at least three ponies. One for the dungeon master, and two or more for the adventurers.”

“It sounds more like ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ than an adventure book,” Trixie mused as she inspected the book once more.

“That’s why I was so curious about it, but every time I asked my friends if they wanted to play it with me they always had some sort of excuse.”

Trixie put a hoof to her chin as she lay the book back down onto the pile. “… Well, how about if Trixie and Spike play it with you?”

“But the book’s going to given away tomorrow, and Spike’s already asked for the rest of the day off to read through his comics… He’s not really into these kinds of games anyway. He says they’re too complicated and have too many rules.”

“No, I said that you make them too complicated,” Spike said as he reentered the room. “But yeah, I’ve already planned the rest of my day to involve powering through the rest of The Trotting Dead.” Spike carried a tray carrying a glass of milk and a bowl of gemstones towards a nearby cushion, where a few stacks of comic books were piled up beside it. “And then after that, The Amazing Spider-Mare, and if I have time, I’ll reread my entire Power Ponies collection!”

Twilight rolled her eyes as the baby dragon jumped onto his cushion and grabbed the first comic from his stash, moving it slowly so as to avoid tearing it. “So yeah, we’ll need one more pony, and in such short notice-”

Trixie held up a hoof to halt her speaking. “Well then, the Great and Powerful Trixie will invite Rainbow Dash to join us.”

“But I’ve already asked her, and her response was less than favourable…”

Twilight frowned as Rainbow Dash soared above her, pointing and laughing at her simply request. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH… Oh, wait, you’re serious. Let me laugh harder.”

“You just leave Dashie to me,” Trixie said, earning a groan from Spike at her use of Rainbow Dash’s nickname. “Shall we say, just after six tonight?”

Twilight tapped a hoof against her chin. “Well, I suppose it would be nice to have company, and this may be my last chance to play this game with anypony… Okay then! But are you sure you can convince her?”

Trixie leaned forward and gave Twilight a wink as she whispered, “Trixie will spare the details as there is a juvenile in the room, but rest assured, she will take care of it.”

“No way!” Rainbow Dash folded her forelegs and shook her head. “I wouldn’t be caught dead playing some ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ or whatever game.”

“And why not? You read plenty of Daring Do books, and this is essentially the same thing.” ‘Genre-wise.’

“I don’t care! There’s a line I have to draw between coolness and… just plain egghead.”

Trixie wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow Dash and grinned as she rested her chin on the other mare’s shoulder. “Well, if that’s how you feel… But you know, the Great and Powerful Trixie has researched pegasus anatomy a bit and has found this technique that she is sure you will enjoy…”

Rainbow Dash felt a hoof tracing along her wing and gulped. “Y-You did?”

“It’s too bad,” Trixie whispered into Rainbow’s ear. “The Great and Powerful Trixie was going to demonstrate it to you tonight as a special gift, but seeing as how you’re being so difficult…”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Alright, fine. I get it… I’ll play the stupid game with you.”

Trixie beamed as she pushed herself away from Rainbow Dash. “Oh you will? How wonderful! Then we shall depart for Twilight’s at six!” ‘Excellent! Now I have the perfect chance to return this book whilst Twilight is distracted!’

“So,” Rainbow said, turning around and giving Trixie a sultry look, “About that ‘technique’…”

“Hm? Oh, that. Trixie will show you later tonight,” Trixie said, waving her hoof dismissively. “She can’t risk you bailing on her after she has shown it to you. Besides, the Great and Powerful Trixie is far too busy right now.”

“With what?” Rainbow asked.

“Magic stuff, you wouldn’t understand.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and rose to her hooves. “Tch, fine, whatever. I guess I’ll go stretch my wings a bit then if you’re just gonna be boring.”

“Yes, you go do that,” Trixie said in a bored tone as she rummaged through her bag. After she heard the sound of retreating hoofsteps accompanied by the sound of her door closing, Trixie used her magic to lock her door and then pulled a book out of her bag. “Trixie will have to read through this quickly. Thankfully it’s a book for five-year-olds, so it shouldn’t take long.” Trixie threw herself backwards onto her bed and opened the book above her with her magic, a bright smile on her face as she began reading.

Later that evening, three knocks at the library door told Twilight Sparkle that her guests had arrived. And in good timing, too; the snacks had just been laid out for everypony and the final checking to ensure the place was fit for company had just been completed.

“Well, I guess I’ll be upstairs if anypony needs me,” Spike said as he grabbed his bowl of gems and a stash of comic books and headed towards the staircase.

“You know you don’t have to go upstairs,” Twilight said as she approached the door. “You can stay down here and chat with us if you like.”

“Thanks but no thanks. I was on my best behaviour earlier, but an entire evening with Trixie yammering on about how great she is?” Spike shuddered at the mere thought before continuing his ascent up the stairs.

Twilight simply rolled her eyes and opened the door. Standing before her was Trixie and, to her surprise, Rainbow Dash. “Hi girls.” She stepped aside to let her two guests in. “I’ve laid out some snacks for everypony. Help yourselves.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie told you that she could convince Dash to join us tonight,” Trixie said as she entered the room, followed by a bored-looking Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Rainbow looked around and then turned to Twilight. “So I guess you got Spike to stay over at Fluttershy’s or somethin’, right?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What? Why?”

“Well, you know. For the threesome. That is why we’re here, right?”

Twilight and Trixie’s faces both turned red immediately, though for different reasons for each mare. “TRIXIE!” Twilight shouted. “WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?!”

“She’s lying!” Trixie insisted. “Trixie said nothing of the sort!”

Rainbow’s laughter silenced the two of them, and both mares watched with little-to-no amusement on their faces as the pegasus rolled onto her back in the air and kicked her hind legs as she lost herself in her laughter.

“Yes, well,” Twilight said after clearing her throat, “Now that we’ve all had a good laugh, how about we get started?”

“You got the book?” Trixie asked. Twilight nodded and pointed to the book sitting on the table in the centre of the room. Trixie trotted to the book and picked it up in her magic.

“I gave the instructions a quick read. It’s pretty interesting; it combines typical ‘choose your own adventure’ stories with tabletop gameplay.”

“‘Tabletop’?” Trixie asked as she shook the book upside-down. “With what?”

“There’s a spell in the instructions for summoning the mat, the pieces, the dungeon master’s sheet, and your character sheets. Whoever designed this game intended it to be easily portable.”

“Just so ya know, I have no idea what you guys are talking about,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well, let’s just take it slow,” Twilight suggested. “For now, let’s start with building your characters. Can I see the book for a second?” Trixie gave Twilight the book and the alicorn closed her eyes and focussed. A moment later, a flash of purple light spawned a stack of sheets, a large mat on the floor, and some black, plastic figurines shaped like ponies. “Okay, start off by taking a character sheet each and filling out the top parts.”

Trixie grabbed a character sheet an examined the various fields to fill in. “Name, date of birth, blood type, sex… Is all of this really necessary?”

“I’ll admit it seems a little much, but let’s just go along with it. It doesn’t have to be your real information, anyway.” Whilst the two filled out their character sheets in silence, Twilight set up her own little area where she could be the dungeon master. “Alright, now we determine your stats.”

“How?” Rainbow asked.

“With dice rolls,” Twilight answered, producing two dice and levitating them towards Rainbow Dash. The pegasus took them and rolled a number of times to determine her character’s stats, and then Trixie did the same.

“As a Sorcerer, Trixie’s stats are ‘Magic Level’, ‘Physical Strength’, ‘Temperance’ and ‘Wisdom’,” Trixie said out loud. “Trixie rolled well on all but Physical Strength…”

“If you like, you can trade up to five trait point from other skills to another,” Twilight told Trixie.

“… Well, as there are only the two of us, we’ll probably need all the muscle we can get. Trixie will trade five Magical Strength and add it to Physical Strength.”

“That means you can only use up to moderate-level spells,” Twilight said. “But on the other hoof, you should now be able to hold your own in combat.”

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash, who shook her head. “Yeah, I have no idea what I’m doin’. I’ll just leave it like this.”

“Your stamina is pretty low,” Trixie pointed out.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Who cares? I’ll just try to not do much.”

Trixie rolled her eyes and turned her attention towards the book. “Okay, so it seems that our journey is starting with our character ‘approaching a lone straw hut in a large meadow, with but one guardian oak to offer it company, when suddenly-’”

“Hold on,” Twilight said quickly. “Before we begin, there’s one more spell that was listed in there. It says it will ‘enhance the game’ by ‘adding more life to it’. I don’t recognise the spell itself, but-”

“Trixie sees it,” Trixie said after flipping back a couple of pages. “It looks simple enough to perform. Well, for us, at least.”

“What does it mean by ‘adding life’ to the game?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It probably means making it more exciting to look at,” Trixie said. “Holograms of monsters, or illusionary backdrops of our surroundings. Stuff like that.”

“That doesn’t sound half-bad,” Rainbow said. “So you gonna cast it then?”

“Well, I-”

“Indeed,” Trixie interrupted. “Whoever designed this game put a lot of effort into it, and so we should honour that effort by playing it in the way that it was designed to be played.”

“… Well, alright then. Just let me read over the spell one more time… Okay, ready.” Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her heart skipped a beat as she cast the spell, and an intense purple light filled the room suddenly, blinding Rainbow Dash and Trixie.

“W-WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Rainbow shouted.

“WHAT’S GRABBING TRIXIE’S LEG?!” Trixie asked.

Twilight began to sweat as she tried to cancel the spell, but it was too late. As she opened her eyes, she found that her friends were gone. Not a single trace of them was left to be seen. “W-What?” she whispered under her breath as she tried to remain calm. “R-Rainbow Dash? Trixie?”

No response came. Twilight rose to her hooves, her eyes wide and her jaw trembling. “G-Guys?” Still no response, and then finally, Twilight couldn’t hold it in anymore. “GUYS! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“Twilight?!” Spike shouted from up the stairs as he rushed down quickly, tripping on his foot and tumbling to the bottom on his way down. “Twilight, what’s wrong?!”

“Spike, they’re gone!” Twilight shouted in panic as she grabbed Spike’s shoulders and shook him back-and-forth. “They’re gone, Spike, and I don’t know where!”

“W-What happened?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she looked around. She was no longer in the library, or even in Ponyville at all. She was in a wide meadow, green as far as the eye could see. She could feel a warm wind blowing through her mane, and the only company she had was Trixie, who looked just as confused as she was feeling. “Where are we?”

“It would appear to be a meadow,” Trixie observed. “Though anything more specific, Trixie cannot tell you.”

“Gee, thanks,” Rainbow said flatly. “Any idea how we got here, at least?”

“… Magic?” Trixie guess as she continued to look around. “Hold on, this place seems familiar… What’s that over there?”

Rainbow Dash followed Trixie’s gaze to find a small hut next to a single, large tree. “A house?”

“Don’t you recognise it, though?” Trixie asked. She could see that Rainbow Dash was drawing a blank, so she decided to help her. “It’s a ‘lone straw hut in a large meadow, with but one guardian oak to offer it company’.”

“Wait, that’s the description from the book,” Rainbow Dash said. “Hold on! Don’t tell me-”

“It would appear we have been transported into the book,” Trixie confirmed. “That would also explain our sudden apparel.”

In her panic, Rainbow Dash had failed to notice sooner the leather garb she was now wearing and the bow and quiver strapped to her side. It was just like the equipment she had picked out for her character. Likewise, Trixie was wearing a light-blue robe and was brandishing a halberd at her side.

“No way… We were transported into the book?”

Trixie nodded her head. “That would be Trixie’s guess. And if that is the case, then that hut might offer us some insight on how to leave.”

“Why’s that?” Rainbow asked.

“It is the hut where our quest starts,” Trixie explained. “Our supplied were to be given to us at that hut. Besides, it’s not as though we have any other clear destination before us.”

“I guess not… Alright, let’s go.”

The two walked across the meadow together. The grass beneath their hooves and the wind in the air all felt so real. It was hard to believe that this was indeed some fantasy world that they had somehow ended up in.

As the two closed in on the hut, the ground suddenly began to shake. “What’s goin’ on?!” Rainbow Dash asked as she bolted into the air.

Trixie steeled herself whilst she waited for the tremors to pass, but what happened instead surprised her. A large, red worm shot forth from the ground, towering high into the air and covering the two mares in its shadow.

“A monster!” Trixie shouted, some excitement in her voice. “It really is the world inside the book! And that means we’ve gotta fight!”

“You sound a bit too eager to be fightin’ some giant worm thing!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew down beside Trixie.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is not afraid of creepy-crawlies, no matter how overgrown they are! Behold!” Trixie pointed her horn to the worm… only for nothing to happen.

“What are you doing?!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she grabbed Trixie and dashed to the side as the worm above them slammed down into the ground. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash began to pant and landed on the ground. “W-What the? Why am I so tired all of a sudden?”

“This is bad,” Trixie said, her voice suddenly sounding very serious. “I think our abilities have been limited to our character sheets. Trixie cannot use her advanced magic because she traded it for greater physical strength.”

“And I rolled bad on stamina,” Rainbow Dash recalled. “So I can only fly for a little bit and then I’m tired?”

“Yes, but you rolled well on accuracy,” Trixie reminded. “Try aiming at the worm’s neck weak spot with your bow.”

“Got it!” Rainbow Dash pulled out her bow and an arrow and aimed up towards the worm, pulling an arrow back and shutting her eye.

“… Well?!”

“I can’t fire!” she shouted. “I’m telling my hoof to let go, but it won’t listen!”

“What do I do? What do I do?!” Twilight paced back-and-forth, panicking to herself as she read through several books at once. “Oh, I knew there was something wrong with that book! Now Rainbow Dash and Trixie could be in mortal danger and I don’t even know how to save them!”

Spike caught a light shining in the corner of his eye and looked up from his own book to find the book that was the cause of this entire problem glowing. “Twilight, look!”

Twilight turned towards the book and gasped. On her dungeon master’s sheet, she found some golden text, reading: ‘Rainbow Dash will strike the beast with her bow. Roll for accuracy’.

“Roll? Wait, beast?!” Twilight had noticed that, on the playmat, the two figures that her friends had picked out had moved over towards the hut, where there was also a worm figure now placed before them. “Oh no. Don’t tell me…”

“Trixie can’t move either!” Trixie shouted. “But it looks like the creature isn’t attacking us, at least. What is going on?”

“Rainbow Dash rolled five,” a voice echoed from the skies.

“Twilight?” Trixie gasped.

“Rainbow Dash fires her arrow, and it strikes the beast’s weak spot.” Just as Twilight’s disembodied voice had dictated, Rainbow Dash released her arrow and it soared through the air and into the worm’s weak spot.

“I… I got it,” Rainbow said in disbelief as the creature fell towards the ground.

“Twilight said that you ‘rolled a five’,” Trixie pointed out as she composed herself. “This is insane. We’re inside an RPG adventure book.”

“But ho- … It was that spell, wasn’t it?” Rainbow asked in a flat tone.

“‘Bring the game to life’… Well, its meaning could be interpreted in this way,” Trixie said with a nod.

“Stupid magic.”

“Hey, you have to admit that that was pretty fun, right?” Trixie asked with a grin. “A more clear warning would have been nice, sure, but now that we know this is just part of the game we can enjoy it much more!”

Rainbow looked over to the giant worm lying on the ground with an arrow protruding from its side. “Well, I guess it’s a lot cooler than just reading and looking at numbers.”

“Right. Leave the ‘egghead’ side of it to Twilight whilst we have an epic adventure!”

“You know that I can hear you, right?” Twilight said, her eye twitching as she looked down at the playmat. “… Wait, can they hear me?”

“Yo Twilight! If you’re up there, just let us out whenever ya get bored!” Rainbow Dash’s voice called out.

“I don’t think they can hear us,” Spike said.

“Worse than that,” Twilight said, “They asked me to let them out. But I don’t know how!”

“You don’t?!” Spike asked. “What about the spell?”

“It was just the one… Maybe there’s something on the back page. Spike, can you take over for me? I know you were really excited to read all your comic books, but-”

“Yeah, I got it,” Spike interrupted as he sat down beside Twilight. “Trixie aside, Rainbow Dash is a friend. Besides, this is finally my chance to be the hero, instead of just sitting on the sidelines!”

“Just make sure they’re safe and roll the dice whenever you’re prompted, like before.” Twilight lifted the book up and flipped through the pages. “I’m going to see if there are any further instructions in this thing.”

“Have a safe journey, you two!”

Trixie and Rainbow Dash waved goodbye to the old mare, who retreated back into her hut as the two left with the bag she had given them.

“Okay, so we got the supplies. Now what?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked into the bag, pulling out a rope attached to a hook and a large orange shield with a silver pentagram pattern on it.

Trixie pulled out a map and two vials, one containing a blue liquid, the other containing a green one. “According to this map…” Trixie began as she opened up the piece of parchment, scanning across it to find out where they were, “There’s a town or village to the south of us, if we just follow the cobblestone pathway.”

“And what then? I’m not really sure how these things go.”

Trixie rolled the map back up and placed everything back into the seemingly-magic bag. “Typically, we’ll receive some sort of quest once we get there. If there’s an inn or a tavern then that would be the best place to start. The book mentioned something about a dark overlord, right?”

“I dunno,” Rainbow Dash shrugged.

“Well, it did,” Trixie deadpanned, “And Trixie wagers that that’s going to be our final boss.”

“Just as long as it isn’t another worm…”

Trixie grinned. “Is Dashie afraid of a few creepy-crawlies?”

Rainbow threw a kick at Trixie, who jumped back to dodge it. “I’m just sayin’ I’d rather fight something cool, like how Daring Do has Ahuizotl, and how Cadance has Chrysalis.”

“Might be a three-headed dragon,” Trixie suggested as the two walked down the path together. “Or perhaps a horsemunculus that requires a special magical artefact in order to defeat.”

“A what now? No, you know what? Don’t tell me. I already lost enough cool points when I agreed to play this game with you and Twilight.”

“You’re having fun and you know it,” Trixie said as she bumped into Rainbow’s side. “… Hey, Trixie just realised…”

“What?”

“Your stamina is low right now… This may be Trixie’s chance to best you at your speciality.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Yeah, no. No way an egghead like you would ever beat me in a race.”

“Oh?” Trixie picked up her pace a little. “Would you care to prove that?”

Rainbow Dash also started to walk a little faster. “You’re on, and when you lose I’ll have you on your knees telling me how awesome I am!”

“You want another drink, Dashie?” Trixie asked. She had never been so happy in her entire life, nor had she ever rubbed a victory into another pony’s face as much as she was right then and there. “You were pretty worn out when you finally caught up, you know?”

“Shut it,” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed another glass of apple cider and chugged it down. She sighed as she rested her head onto the counter in front of her, a pleasant smile on her face. “Man, the cider here tastes good.”

“That was quite the surprise,” Trixie said as she sipped at her own drink.

“Hey now,” the bartender said, “The place may look rundown, but there’s no need ta be rude about it.”

“That’s not what Trixie meant,” Trixie assured the stallion, who simply huffed and turned around as he continued to clean the same glass he had been cleaning for the past ten minutes. “The NPCs are fairly well-done.”

“‘NPCs’?”

“None-Player Characters,” Trixie said with a roll of her eyes. “Trixie also feels pain in this world… Whoever developed that spell must have had quite the name for themselves. This book is certainly too advanced for the foals of Manehatten that Twilight was going to donate it to.”

“So, what do we do now?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Do we just ask random people what they know?”

“Pretty much,” Trixie said with a nod. “For starters, we should learn who this ‘dark overlord’ is.”

“What, have ya been livin’ under a rock for the past year?” the bartender asked. “Wait, lemme guess: you folks are from that ‘Dream Valley’ place, ain’tcha?”

“‘Dream Valley’?” Rainbow asked.

“Ya must be, if’n ya haven’t heard o’ Tirek before.”

“Tirek?!” Trixie shouted, bringing the entire room to total silence. “The Tirek, dark lord of Ponyland who was defeated by the Rainbow of Light.”

“Quiet!” the bartender hissed, shifting his eyes about before leaning in closer. “Y’don’t know who might be listenin’,” he whispered, “So if I was you, I’d watch what ya say about Lord Tirek. False rumours like that’ll earn ya a one-way trip ta Midnight Castle.”

“Who is Tirek?” Rainbow asked Trixie.

“According to the history books,” Trixie started, “He was a centaur who once ruled over Ponyland, the name of the old kingdom before the three tribes separated it into their respective territories.”

“What’s a ‘centaur’?”

“Nopony knows,” Trixie said, “Besides the vague descriptions we have from the past. Supposedly, Tirek killed every last one of his kind before becoming the ruler of Midnight Castle. He attacked the freedom-loving ponies of Dream Valley but was defeated by their ‘Rainbow of Light’. Any unicorn who attended Celestia’s School knows this story, and it’s becoming likely that such a past student was perhaps the one who created this game.”

“Because they know the story and good magic?” Rainbow asked, receiving a nod. “Wait, does that mean we’ve gotta find these Dream Valley ponies?”

“That would seem to be the case,” Trixie muttered as she put a hoof to her chin. Her horn lit up and she pulled her map out of her bag. “There doesn’t seem to be a ‘Dream Valley’ listed here though.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” the bartender said. “The ponies down there like ta keep ta themselves, and the place is like a maze to us civil folk up here. What I can tell ya, though, is you’ll wanna head west if’n you’re lookin’ for Dream Valley.”

“West would take us through this ‘Forest of Misery’,” Trixie said, humming uncertainly.

“Eh, don’t worry none. The name jus’ comes from the only pony ta have ever mapped it out, Miss Eerie. She loved eerie stuff.”

“Oh, I see,” Trixie said with a sigh.

“Though she died the night she returned, an’ her map mysteriously disappeared,” the bartender added. “The only other ponies ta have seen the map were killed that night, too.”

Rainbow Dash gulped. “W-Well, that sounds nice,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Say, I don’t suppose you know a way around the forest, do you?”

The bartender shook his head. “To the left o’ the forest is ogre territory, and a couple o’ witches live ta the right. An’ lemme tell ya, they ain’t big on company.”

“It’ll be fine, Dash,” Trixie said as she wrapped a hoof around her marefriend, grinning and chuckling under her breath at the bartender. “You slipped up. You said that the others were ‘killed too’, not that they ‘died’.”

The bartender’s eyes widened. “I-I-”

“It’s okay. We won’t tell,” Trixie assured him. “But whatever reason you had to hide it intrigues Trixie.”

“… Well, it’s just that it was obvious who did it,” the bartender whispered to Trixie. “Lord Tirek didn’t want nopony to go in that forest, so he killed them ponies as a warnin’ and stole the map. O’course, nopony would say it outright, ‘else they’d find ‘emselves hangin’ by a noose the next mornin’, y’know?”

“Isn’t that strange, though?” Rainbow asked. “Why kill the ponies who didn’t enter the forest, just as a warning? And why take the map? Why not just put guard at the forest’s entrance?”

“It’s not entering the forest that’s the problem,” Trixie deduced. “There was something in there that Tirek wanted to hide, but somepony not only found it, but included its location on a map. A map that was shown to other ponies.”

“Something he didn’t want somepony to find?” Rainbow asked. “Like what?”

“No idea,” Trixie admitted, “But it certainly sounds like a quest to Trixie!”

“So we’re going through the forest, then?”

Trixie nodded, and held her partner tighter. “Don’t worry, Dashie. The Great and Powerful Trixie will be sure to shield you from nasties, and then later she will accept all the hugs and kisses as her reward.”

Rainbow Dash pushed Trixie away. “Uh, do I have to remind you who had to save whose flank against a worm?”

“Does Trixie have to remind you who was unable to make a short run to this town? Besides, you’re a newbie, and so it is Trixie’s job, as a veteran, to look out for you on this journey.”

“You two are a couple, right?” the bartender asked. The two mares nodded. “Don’t know why I’m sayin’ this, but I got a feelin’ it’s somethin’ ya need ta hear, ‘specially if you’re goin’ after Lord Tirek: love triumphs all.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Uh, okay? That was… incredibly corny.”

The bartender simply blushed and cleared his throat as he turned away, not saying anything further to the two mares.

“… Well, he’s got a point,” Trixie said as she nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek. “Love is our strongest weapon, right?”

Rainbow Dash groaned, but her attitude suddenly changed as she felt a hoof wrapping around her waist. “… Yeah, guess you’re right,” she said with a grin as she grabbed Trixie as connected their lips together. ‘… This feels weird with everypony watchin’… buuuuut they’re not exactly real, so I guess it’s okay.’

Spike gagged at the sickening sounds of smooching invading his brain and had to grab a nearby pillow to cover his ears with, in the vain hopes that it would help. He saw purple hooves approaching and jumped to his feet. “Twilight! Thank Celestia. Please tell me you found something!”

Twilight simply stood there, her eyes wide with what appeared to be horror and her mouth agape. Spike raised an eyebrow and waved a claw before her, snapping his fingers to hopefully break her out of her trance.

“Spike,” Twilight said finally as she moved Spike’s hand away. “I… I’ve found out what this is…”

“What do you mean?” Spike asked. “It’s like a D and D, RPG mix-up thing, right?”

Twilight shook her head. “This is no game, Spike. It’s a trap.”