Act V

Light snoring filled the library. On the basement’s couch laid two ponies, curled up as much as possible, trying to hold on to what little blanket each of them had. The sun’s first rays scintillated through the leaves, giving the scene an unreal, picturesque glow.

Luna groaned.

Sleeping on a couch was one thing. Sharing that same couch with a full-grown unicorn was something else entirely. She freed herself from the blanket, trying her best not to wake Trixie, and got up, stretching her aching muscles and yawning generously.
The smell of breakfast suddenly invaded her nostrils, and soon enough she found herself following it to the kitchen.

“Morning, Princess Luna.” Spike didn’t even look up from his pan as Luna entered the room. “I thought I’d make breakfast for the two of you. Twilight should be returning soon and I kinda doubt that you’ll have time for it then.” The dragon smirked and added another pancake to the sizeable stack he had put on the plate.

“Thank you,” Luna mumbled. “I shall go and wake Trixie then, so she can partake in this.”

Luna went back to the couch, finding Trixie even further submerged in her blanket. This is going to be good. Luna grinned. Stepping closer to the sleeping unicorn’s form, she wrapped the blanket in a light glow of her magic, very slowly as to not wake Trixie prematurely. Levitating Trixie just a bit, she slid it beneath her, encompassing the unicorn in the purple cloth. When Trixie was fully hidden, not the tip of a hoof pointing out, Luna heaved her up, shaking her immensely.

“What’s going on? Where am I?” came a sleepy, nervous voice from inside the lavender prison.

“Thou art trapped, peasant. And now thou shalt pay for the damage thou hath done.” Luna growled in her most sinister voice, barely able to contain her laughter.

“Are you done playing?” Spike appeared in the middle of the room, tapping his foot in mild annoyance. “The pancakes are getting cold and I’m not waiting much longer.”

“Spike!” Luna threw up her hooves and let go of Trixie. “You ruined my prank.”

Trixie got up from the floor, disentangling herself and huffed. “So it was you all along.”

Luna ignored her glare and followed Spike to the kitchen, eager to start breakfast before Twilight would get back. I have a feeling that I’ll need it. She took a serve of pancakes from the plate and poured a massive amount of syrup on them.

Soon enough, between two bites, she noticed that Trixie had joined her on their last meal, digging in like there was indeed no tomorrow.

Spike watched the silent display of two desperate ponies trying to take in as much food as possible, munching on a few emeralds himself.

Someone rapped at the front door.

Both ponies looked up, gazing at each other in horror.

This is it. Luna got up from her chair, Trixie mimicked her action. They slowly made their way to the door.

___________________________

What’s taking them so long? Twilight thought, looking up at the slowly rising morning sun. She had taken the very first carriage available, driven by the desire to put an end to all of this. Well not all of it, just the mad part where everyone tries to control me.

She knocked on the door again. With Luna teleporting both of them from the library the previous night, she had forgotten to take her keys.

The door opened slowly, revealing a bedraggled Trixie and Luna, motioning for her to enter.

Looks like they didn’t get much sleep either. Twilight grinned inwardly. “Morning, you two.”

“Morning, Twilight.” They echoed in unison, Trixie closing the door behind her.

So far so good.

“Now, you’re probably wondering—” Twilight began.

“We’re truly sorry, Twilight.” Luna interrupted her.

“We both got carried away in the heat of competition and we kinda lost track of what’s within civilized limits. Please don’t let Celestia send poor Trixie to the moon.” Trixie added.

Gotcha!

Twilight paced around the two rueful ponies, feigning to study them meticulously.

She sighed, they winced. Interesting. “After yesterday’s disastrous events I have every right to send you off just like this.” Twilight waited for their reaction, both of them sunk lower. “But as it stands, none of us are infallible. I’ve committed similar errors in the past, so I know what can make a pony break the law and other ponies’ trust like that.” She put an emphasis on that, seeing as the two of them had been getting their hopes up again.

“Twilight—” Luna tried to meet her gaze.

“No, Luna, I’m not done.” Twilight glared at them. “I want to tell you that despite all of this I’m really disappointed with you two. Do you have any idea how much it hurt me, seeing how far you two would go…” Twilight steadied her breathing and regained her calm. “But when I got some distance from it, I decided to take it as a compliment; you must really want to be my marefriend if you’re going through this trouble and none of you wanted to cause any permanent damage so I guess that’s a start. But,” she raised her voice, “if I ever find you doing that again I will personally chase you to bloody Tartarus and I’m sure Cerberus will gladly guard you for a few hundred years.”

They trembled at her honest threat. Good.

Twilight took another deep breath and let the silence reign for a moment, giving her suitors some time to recover.

Morning light filled the library, and the only sound being Spike’s busy rustling in the kitchen, the library felt empty and quiet, despite the three emotionally shaken ponies in the basement.

Trixie and Luna shared a sympathetic look.

“So, what now?” Trixie broke the silence.

“Now you two go and figure out who gets to date me.” Twilight took a cushion and sat down.

Luna grinned. “I’ll shall go and fetch a judge for our magic duel.”

Trixie flinched.

Twilight facehooved. “No magic duels in this century, Luna.”

“Another pair of dates.” Trixie suggested.

Twilight shook her head. “That won’t lead us anywhere.”

Silence took over once again.

“We go home and live our pitiful lives, dreaming of what could have been?” Trixie was on the brink of crying.

“Sounds good.” Luna’s sad tone betrayed her true feelings.

Twilight sighed, restlessly thinking of ways to make it work. “If nothing else that sounds like a—”

“Hold on a sec.” A blur shot through the door and stepped in between Twilight and the two competitors.

“Nopony move! I have an alligator and I’m not afraid of using it.”

“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight didn’t know if she should be confused or thankful for her friend’s interruption.

Pinkie stood in the middle of the library, holding her pet Gummy moving him nervously around, daring anyone to speak.

“No need to use your…pet.” Luna tried to calm the mare. “Now put him down and let’s talk like normal ponies.”

Pinkie took a deep breath, put Gummy back into her mane, and sat down in front of the three confused mares.

“So, Pinkie,” Twilight tried, “what are you doing here?”

Pinkie jumped up again, startling everyone. “So I came back from visiting my relative in Canterlot and when the train pulled into Ponyville I ran into a doorframe while my tail twitched twice, which means that someone’s about to make an enormerificly big mistake. Then my stomach growled three times while I jumped, so I knew it was somepony like really important to me having problems with their love life. And then when I got here I felt all of that itchy magic surrounding you, so I thought to myself ‘Pinkie, you have to act. It’s now or never.’ So I jumped through the door pulled Gummy out and stopped you from doing something horrifically stupid.” Pinkie ended her monologue with a gleeful grin and looked around expectantly.

Twilight’s mouth was agape. Even for Pinkie’s standards this was quite random; not to forget about another instance of Pinkie sense being used, but that was for later.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘itchy magic’?” Twilight’s mind was grinding while Trixie and Luna looked even more confused than before.

“Well it’s like the one Princess Cadance used at her wedding to chase off those spooky bug creatures, just more…wrong. And it’s all over you too.”

Twilight gave it a moment. Who could have used magic similar to Cadance? I never drank Luna’s potion so that’s out. “Trixie?”

“Huh?” Trixie shot up.

“What spell did you use on that bracelet?” Twilight already had an idea what the answer would be.

“I don’t know.” Trixie mumbled. “Just some love spell I found in an old book.”

“Can I see that bracelet?” Pinkie seemed to be coming up with something.

Luna took the bracelet out of her saddlebacks and gave it to Pinkie. “ But be careful please, we don’t know what spell—” Pinkie pulled the bracelet over her hoof and giggled, while the other three stared at her in shock.

“How are you feeling?” Twilight asked carefully.

“It’s a doozy.” Pinkie grinned and pulled out her detective hat a blackboard and some chalk out of nowhere.

Putting on a smart expression, glee still written in her eyes, she started writing away, still wearing the bracelet.

“As per definition of Starswhirl the Bearded, a spell no matter how strong always wishes to fulfil its purpose and can therefore not be stopped by its user unless it necessitates a constant influx of energy as with beams and levitation.” Pinkie began, Twilight nodding. This was basic magic knowledge, even though it was peculiar to see that Pinkie apparently knew about it.

“However enchantments and such only need a one-time input and they’ll just run from there on. In this case, the magic used is a rip-off of Princess Cadance’s special magic and therefore it doesn’t exactly do the same as her spell.

“Trixie, do you love Twilight?” The unicorn nodded. “Then who did you fall for when putting on this bracelet?”

“Uhm, Trixie did—she felt this…fuzzy tingling spreading whenever her eyes beheld Luna’s form.” Trixie was stuck between confusion and embarrassment.

“That’s what I thought. The bracelet tried to enforce your love for Twilight, but since you already quite openly display that, there was nothing to add. Yet, since the spell had to be fulfilled it increased the love you felt for a second pony, and that was Princess Luna. Wow, you’re quite ambitious, aren’t you?” Pinkie nudged Trixie in the ribs.

“How do you know all of this?” Twilight tried to wrap her head around the fact that Pinkie had made progress where she couldn’t.

“I read it in a book, duh.” Pinkie continued smiling gleefully.

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“Well last week was so suuuuper boring, so I thought ‘Pinkie, what should you do without any parties to plan.’ Then I came to the library to have a small party with you, but you weren’t there, so I looked at all those reaaaally old books you have here. And one had that funny looking cover and you know I like funny things – and cupcakes, but those are funny too, so I guess that doesn’t really add anything – so I read all of that weird magic stuff and when I put on this shiny, little bracelet it aaaaaaaall came back to me.” Pinkie dropped on the floor, pulled Gummy out of her mane and played with him, while Twilight still just standing there, puzzled.

“Hold on Pinkie.” Twilight’s eyes grew big. “Does that mean that Trixie’s also in love with Luna?”

“Eeyup.”

“And that’s the case even without that spell?”

“Yesssir. Or ma’am. My Princess?” Pinkie guessed, launching herself in a contemplation of titles to choose from.

“Trixie?” Luna had been quiet during the entire debate. “May we have a talk in private?”

The great and confused Trixie looked her way. “Yeah, Trixie thinks that would be helpful.”

“Use my bedroom.” Twilight exhaustedly pointed her hoof at the stairs.

“Thank you.” Luna motioned Trixie to follow her and they went upstairs.

___________________

The room was simple: a normal sized bed, some bookcases and books towering everywhere. Trixie could get used to this, but purple curtains with purple sheets? Somepony had a narcissistic streak.

Luna cleared her throat, begging for her attention. I have a feeling that this will be really awkward.

“So, Trixie, before we discuss anything else, what the pink pony said… is it true?” Luna’s voice trembled; she was visibly blushing.

Trixie looked down, focusing a dark spot on the floor, trying not to appear flustered.

“Before these events, Trixie would have said no.” Trixie began. Luna’s ears dropped. “But recently Trixie has been having some kind of flashbacks, of you and her... cuddling. Trixie supposes the bracelet’s effect is clouding her memory, but it’s coming back slowly. And… Trixie—no—I don’t think I mind. Then and there, as well as in the forest, it felt good.” Both ponies were blushing now, happy about the room’s dimmed light, the sun’s light barely transcending the thick curtains.

“I take that as a yes then.”

Trixie nodded coyly, very unlike her usual self.

“This puts us in an unlucky situation.” Luna paced around, contemplating the best course of action.

“Do you have feelings for me?” Trixie voice was barely raised, yet it pierced the room’s quiet.

I love you, Luna.

Oh, for the sake of Tartarus, not this again. Luna met the unicorn’s apprehensive stare.

“I don’t know.” Luna answered. “There is something, but I can’t pinpoint it. Something about you embracing me did feel…right. I don’t know if I love you, but it’s—”

Trixie jumped from her position and pulled Luna in a hug.

The alicorn was unsure at first, but that warmth was right; it was how it should be. She returned the hug with all she had.

“But what about Twilight?” Trixie regained her full consciousness after her rash act.

“What about her?” Luna flashed Trixie a predatory smile and batted her eyes seductively.

“Oh.”

_______________________

“What’s taking them so long?” Twilight restlessly paced around Pinkie.

“I dunno. Maybe they’re planning a super special surprise party for you,” Pinkie suggested, still playing around with Gummy.

“This can’t be good. What if they’re fighting? What if Luna accidentally banishes Trixie to the moon, or to Tartarus, or even worse.” Twilight stood eye to eye with Pinkie.

“Cupcake?” Pinkie pulled a cupcake out of her mane and shoved it into Twilight’s mouth. “Now chew, you silly alicorn. Everything’s gonna be superificiently okay.”

Twilight gulped down the treat. “That’s not a word, Pinkie, but thanks anyways. I’m all calm now.”

Her bedroom door opened and out came two ponies, grinning viciously.

Oh Celestia, what have I done? Twilight’s breathing accelerated anew.

Trixie nodded at Luna.

“In wake of the newest developments, Trixie and I have come to the conclusion that we have some kind of feelings for each other that we would like to investigate further.” Luna began.

Twilight sunk to the floor.

“Furthermore,” Trixie continued, “this also means that neither of us can continue to date you as of now.”

What? What!? Twilight’s brain stopped functioning.

“This being said we want to ask you one last question.”

Twilight perked up at Luna’s voice.

Her two former suitors grinned.

“Do you want to go on a date with us?”

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. You can find a post about this story and some other stuff over here http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/378619/story-done-and-other-stuff