The tower pierced the canopy of the Everfree Forest for all to see. It was a calming thing, the ponies of Ponyville all agreed. To them it was like a good friend watching out for them. In large part, this was because it was a good friend watching out for them. Or at the very least, that was what it represented.
In the room at the top of the tower, its sole inhabitant stood before the window, observing the town she loved so much. She smiled softly at the sight of the library, that other beacon of peace; she broke into a grin as her eyes swept over the apple farm, which, while impressive from the ground, was simply breathtaking from above; she suppressed a laugh at the palatial cloud manor, a testament to one pony's complete lack of restraint.
In the park, there was a light green unicorn laughing and joking with her friends as she strummed a lyre serenely. Her coat partially camouflaged against the grass, she was almost totally invisible from this angle and distance, but the watcher in the tower knew she was there, not from the small crowd that had gathered but from the unmistakable mane of the mare who constantly accompanied her. A pair of teenaged fillies trotted eagerly toward some inscrutable destination, a third lagging behind, her head hung low. It almost brought a tear to the tower mare's eye, as one of the sad filly's friends noticed her behavior and turned to help her.
There were a few couples on dates around town. The mare observed them talking and laughing, and smiled; she watched them bicker, and laughed. She saw a local schoolteacher, sharing a simple smile with a rugged-looking stallion, and felt a small twinge deep down.
So focused on all this, she hadn't noticed that a mirror behind her, a tall, well-polished mirror framed with intricately-carved ebony, had begun glowing gently. No fewer than twenty mirrors hung along the walls of the room, but this was by far the largest and most magnificent. It very well had to be, after all; it had the most important purpose. A few more seconds, and a bright light sprang from it, bathing the room.
"Am I interrupting something?"
The voice was instantly familiar to her. "Not at all," she replied. "In fact, I was just thinking of you." Slowly she turned, meeting the eyes of a reflection that was not her own.
"Oh?" The pony in the mirror permitted a small laugh to escape at the incredibly cheesy line the mare had said so many times before. "And what exactly were you thinking?"
"That I've been up here alone in this tower for too long. I'll be coming into town in an hour. I'll see you there."
"I'd like that, but," the pony coughed politely, "please leave the costume at home this time. I don't want everypony to panic because they think Trixie the Great is on the clock again."
Trixie barely suppressed a snicker. "Alright, fine," she said. "But in return, I want you to wear something sexy."
"No."
~#~#~#~
As Trixie trotted past a local diner, a brown unicorn waved her over to a table, indicating an open seat.
"Heya, Trixie," she greeted. "Here to save our butts again?" She grinned broadly as she asked this, clearly well aware of Trixie's destination.
Trixie smirked. "Oh, certainly! Fear not, gentle Clockwork, for Trixie the Great has this catastrophe well in hoof!" she declared dramatically, then idly looked around before leaning closer and whispering, as if revealing some vital secret, "By catastrophe, I mean-"
Clockwork jammed a hoof into Trixie's mouth to silence her. This move would probably have provoked Trixie's ire had it not been completely anticipated. This was, after all, one of her oldest and closest friends, even from before the Storm.
Trixie also made a mental note to be irritated at how much of her life seemed to have become defined by the Storm, even if it was almost entirely for the better.
"Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean," Clockwork snickered. "You do have time for a chat, though, right? You don't ever seem to come into town to talk lately."
Trixie carefully schooled her expression to carry something almost accusatory. "You could come visit me instead, you know. It's not like I live in a tower to not be seen." Her tone may have sounded hurt, but beneath that, still reflected the same jest.
Clockwork drew in a sharp breath. "I dunno, a tower in the Everfree sounds like exactly the kind of place ponies disappear," she said, then after a moment of thinking about that statement, began poking at Trixie. "On the other hand, you're here, so it can't be that deadly."
Squirming and twisting, Trixie swatted her friend's hoof away, a task made more difficult when the sun chose just that moment to glint off a customer's hoofwatch and catch her square in the eye, as if Celestia herself had decided to join in on the teasing. "Hey, I took a direct hit from the Storm. Did you really think I'd be done in by a few trees?" she asked, drawing back and making to pull the brim of her hat down to shield her eyes, forgetting for a moment that she wasn't wearing it.
Even the most brilliant minds of Equestria still didn't understand the Storm. On that day, four years ago, a great storm of magical energy surged forth and started changing things on a fundamental level. Terrifying beasts, already common in the more unruly forests and fens of the world, were now found in increased numbers, many times imitating something inoccuous, even posing as ponies, and though it was hardly a daily occurrence, Trixie had come to consider halting rampages and the like merely part of her routine.
Ponies were affected as well, and in no place moreso than Ponyville. The town had been close to the epicenter of the Storm, though by the time anypony had realized what was going on, it was too late to track it to the source. Trixie had been one of the lucky ones. When the storm had hit, she had been practicing a spell meant to dazzle the town and make ponies throw themselves at her hooves in awe.
It had been a small, private audience that had watched as she was struck in the middle of gathering her magic by a bolt of raw magical potential. It had surged through her, elevating her power to incredible levels. Her spell, meant to conjure from the earth itself an item of indescribable beauty, had instead cascaded uncontrolled, briefly turning Ponyville into a shining citadel.
The timing had been perfect, because it was just at that moment that the creatures of the forest had begun to swarm. Trixie, in agony yet energized thanks to the magical charge, had stumbled forward to meet them, along with a few brave defenders. She had called out to them to allow her to make this stand alone, fueled equally by a need to burn off the excess energy and an opportunistic desire to be loved by all for what would surely be an easy task.
They would have none of it, and if she could have spared the attention to recognize them at the time she would have known why; they were led by Rainbow Dash, the one pony who hated and distrusted her more than the rest of the town put together, and not without reason. And in the end, Trixie had to grant her grudging gratitude for that, because while she had gained the magic to repel or subdue a great many of the creatures, in the end she did not have the focus, discipline, or mental fortitude to keep it up long enough, and had been narrowly saved by Rainbow Dash's timely intervention.
Though she hadn't been the hero of the day, she did get some recognition for her actions, and so after that, she went on to defend the town again and again. The magical overcharge had lingered for a while, gradually fading. It came as a surprise to Trixie when one day she realized that she no longer possessed the absorbed excess at all, but rather her own, albeit strengthened a bit from her recent activities.
The rest is history. The Great and Powerful Trixie ceased to be an entertainer who boasted about her power at every opportunity, and rose to become the hero known as Trixie the Great, going out and proving it. While she could never match the bravery or power of the Elements of Harmony, she did stand beside them through many battles, and developed her own special advantages, not the least of which was the tower from which she watched over Ponyville.
Back in the present, the unicorns chatted a bit, about Trixie's newest spells, and Clockwork's newest inventions. A mechanical wasp hardly seemed practical to Trixie, but Clockwork brushed her comments aside, assuring her that it would have an important use someday. Soon, Clockwork finished her meal, and Trixie decided it really was time to be going, since she still had business to attend to before her final stop.
"I'd appreciate it if you could stop by the lab later," Clockwork said before she left. "And bring your lover along, I could use a good eye on the Aura Amplifier." With a final hoofshake and a promise to make that visit happen, they parted ways.
~#~#~#~
A crowd had gathered outside town hall for the event. The whispers were deafening, every discussion focused on the same topic; the leader of the Wonderbolts, stopping here in Ponyville after a wildly successful tour. Near the head of the pack was Scootaloo, scanning the sky eagerly for any sign of the flying ace.
So focused was she, in fact, that she almost didn't notice when the crowd went completely silent. She didn't notice when they parted behind her, turning almost reverently. And it took her a moment to register the slow hoofsteps approaching. Slowly, it dawned that somepony was coming, and she cautiously turned around.
And there she was. Rainbow Dash trotted forward, her body dipping slightly every third hesitant beat, as it tended to.
Her pace slowed to a halt as she approached Scootaloo, and she looked the filly over, smiling gently. She placed a hoof on her shoulder, then eased forward into a warm embrace. "How ya doin', squirt?" she whispered.
Scootaloo had a good family and good friends, but truth be told she still always felt alone before she met Rainbow Dash. Back then, more than half her short lifetime ago now, she had no idea why the ponies she cared about were such small comfort to her. It was only after she started chasing rainbooms that she understood that she really hadn't had anypony to look up to, to want to be like.
By a fluke of her bloodline, she was a pegasus born to a pair of unicorns. While they were good ponies, she couldn't ever emulate either of her parents' talents. Without magic, she would just never be dextrous enough. Meanwhile, like most pegasi, she was passionate about flight, but had nopony to teach her or fly with her, and as a consequence had grown up one of the least flight-capable pegasus fillies in Ponyville. Her mother had built her something to help, a device named after her, designed to help her accelerate along the ground and get into the air, but that was the best they could do for her.
So when she met Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo saw in her something that her friends and family couldn't provide; she saw a mentor, a teacher and role model. She wanted nothing more than to be just like Rainbow Dash. So she had spent years trying to get the mare's attention, and Dash had taken notice. She had seen how unfalteringly loyal the fanatical filly was, and that had eventually persuaded her to give it a shot. Neither of them ever regretted it. They became close quickly, and to this day they were as much like sisters as any two ponies in Ponyville.
Scootaloo snapped out of her reflections, returning a just slightly more hollow smile to Rainbow Dash. "Better," she said truthfully, though she wasn't entirely sure what that meant.
Rainbow Dash nodded, patting her twice, and without another word proceeded up the steps of town hall. She turned to face the crowd, and waved to them, her smile magnifying into something truly ecstatic.
Then, quite suddenly, she took to the air, accelerating for just over a second before overhead, there was a great boom and rainbows spread in every direction. Before any eyes could catch her, a rainbow trail above them had spelled out, "I'm back, Ponyville!"
~#~#~#~
Applejack stared at the apple, daring it to suddenly swell up and burst or something.
When she noticed it on returning to the farm after Rainbow Dash's little welcome-back, she had thought it was just a bad apple. But on examining closely, she realized every apple on this tree bore exactly the same sort of discoloration. The same dark blue dots. And they all seemed to have a light blue tinge to them, as well.
So here's the question, Applejack thought. Who in the hay cross-pollinated an apple tree with poison joke?
It could have been a prank, but it takes years for an apple tree to mature. It was hard to imagine any prankster to be willing to wait that long for the payoff. If they were, then maybe Applejack owed them a little respect, and a little fear. And everypony who knew about poison joke knew it wasn't something you messed with. It seemed a little odd that they'd pull a stunt like this knowing that to an unsuspecting victim it could be dangerous.
Well, there was one pony Applejack could think of who might have done it, expecting much faster results and not considering the risk. But Applejack wasn't even sure if Rainbow Dash could spell "cross-pollination". So this was just another of those freak occurrences that were a little too common for AJ's liking. She turned her back on the tree, and trotted over to a barrel of water. After staring at the calm surface for a moment, she took an unnecessarily-deep breath and dunked her head in.
As much as she hated the unpredictability the Storm had brought, giving her things like poison joke apples and carnivorous plants disguising themselves as her trees, Applejack couldn't deny it hadn't all been bad. The roiling magic permeated everything, and in some cases it had very simple, straightforward, and outright beneficial effects. The trees of Sweet Apple Acres, for instance, had acted as lightning rods of a sort, allowing the soil to absorb a lot of magic and become more fertile than ever.
Prior to that, Applejack had been thinking about leaving Ponyville. Apple farming was an important part of her life, but the farm had entered a bit of disheartening decline. To even be able to keep the farm running, she would have needed to seek another source of revenue. But now, with both the quantity and quality of apples dramatically increased, things were actually pretty comfortable.
When she surfaced again, Applejack heard somepony behind her shuffling their hooves. Turning, she flinched at the sight of Derpy the mailmare. Derpy cleared her throat and reached into a saddlebag for a parcel, setting it on the ground. "Delivery from Twilight," she said with a smile.
Then she exploded.
~#~#~#~
Twilight bolted to her feet at the sound of the distant explosion. "What was..."
"Must've been Derpy again," Spike said, not looking away from his appointed task of polishing the library windows. "Third time this month."
Twilight nodded uncomfortably. "I should pay her a visit some time. It can't be easy," she said, still staring in the direction of the sound. "I wish there was something I could do... if only my magic was what it used to be..."
While some ponies had gained magical power during the Storm, Twilight found hers diminished. It was distressing, even catastrophic, but she had learned to live with it. Her friends got her by most of the time, and of course that was a more important kind of magic than her spells. But it was at times like this, when a friend was obviously suffering from a magical problem, that she deeply regretted not being able to to conjure a spell to help them out.
This was actually how she'd discovered the problem. When the Storm had hit, Twilight had been attending to some urgent business in the Everfree Forest, so she was completely unaware of the attack on Ponyville until she saw Rainbow Dash afterward. The pegasus had found herself with a deep gash on her flank, though she refused to explain how she got it. Twilight had moved quickly, pouring all her power into a healing spell.
The wound barely reacted. Twilight's spell had failed. Through the intervening years, she continued trying to summon more and more magic, and was never able to reach even a tenth of her previous power. It seemed that her days of researching and testing new spells were over. It hurt, but the past was the past, and accepting that helped more than Twilight would have expected.
She sighed. "Well, I hope she was at least able to deliver those packages first. That would be months of work down the drain... "
Spike didn't seem to hear that. He was a little preoccupied admiring his handiwork, posing in front of the window.
Both of them were snapped out of their thoughts rather suddenly by a knock on the door. "Were you expecting someone, Twi?" Spike asked.
Twilight nodded, a sheepish grin on her face. "We'd better not keep her waiting," she said, directing her magic to open the door.
~#~#~#~
Trixie knocked three times, then turned, leaning against her paramour's door. She glanced at the sky, reflecting on how it had come to pass. No matter what had transpired before or after that, the day she earned the love of this one pony was the day she felt truly forgiven for her previous behavior.
Before she could ruminate enough for a flashback, however, she was interrupted by a loud ringing sound. Trixie covered her ears against the noise, looking to the source.
The clock tower rose from the middle of Ponyville, its south face proclaiming the turning of the hour to Trixie. Half-obscured by the structure, Trixie saw the library, and idly thought she would have to pay it a visit sometime soon. While she was contemplating, she heard a sound behind her, and the door began to open.
"Come in, come in. I'm just getting a few things ready," came a sweet voice from inside.
With a smile, Trixie swept through the doorway. Inside, she looked around and saw nopony. Near the far wall, she spotted a mirror, and flashed herself a toothy grin.
Her reflection winked back.
It had taken a lot of defeats, and a lot of victories, for Trixie to really learn a few good lessons.
One of the more important of those lessons was about Rarity. When Trixie first met Rarity, neither one would have dared to think they might have anything in common, lest they see the enemy in themselves. Rarity refused to believe Trixie had any sense of style or artistry, and Trixie dismissed Rarity as knowing nothing about showmareship.
These preconceptions went unchallenged until the day the Ponyville Hospital decided to expand. The building was in need of a full floor of new rooms, but of course such expansion was expensive. Learning of this, Rarity took it upon herself to raise money for the project the best way she could: By putting on a show. The idea seemed extraordinarily ambitious, but Rarity was completely confident in her ability.
Trixie decided it would probably be good for a laugh.
Now, even Rarity could see that an exhibition of fine attire was probably not the appropriate choice to perform for a Ponyville charity. This didn't deter her in the slightest. Dressmaking was, after all, not her only talent. Ponies, bits ready, gathered in the cool mid-afternoon of a pleasant fall day, wondering what kind of spectacle she had prepared.
It was glorious. On the stage, carefully-constructed gem formations caught the gentle light, releasing entrancing, multicolored glows. With a series of specially-prepared mirrors, these auras were magnified into brilliant halos, which Rarity then proceeded to produce a strobe-like effect with.
The show was just beginning, but unfortunately, that was as far as it got. Before Rarity could proceed to the next step, there was a loud rumble, and parts of the stage collapsed, the gems quickly drawn down under the wood. Rarity, of course, didn't approve, and pulled back on the gems with all the might her magic afforded.
What she got were gems with odd, grey, bipedal creatures clinging to them - creatures Rarity seemed to recognize immediately. "What are you... brutes doing here!" she shouted, a demand, not a question.
"We heard the fabulous Miss Rarity was performing, and she had plenty of gems," the short one responded, seeming quite indifferent to her tone.
"And we thought, didn't a Miss Rarity take all our gems?" added a somewhat taller one, the leanest of the three. "And we remembered, yes, she did! So we decided to get them back!"
"But this time," the short one spoke again, "we make no mistakes! We leave you here, and the gems come with us! And just to be sure, Fido?"
The bulkiest of the creatures stepped forward now, his orangutan-like arms raised to attack. Rarity drew back into a fighting stance, bipedal, for some reason, looking nervously from creature to creature.
It was then that the stage was covered with smoke. "Really? That's what you're here for? bellowed an angry mare from within. "Trixie was enjoying the show! How rude of you!" There were a few noises, like hooves striking flesh, and the small creature came flying out of the smoke, landing hard at the back of the audience.
The smoke disippated, revealing Trixie in the same position as Rarity, the two now standing back-to-back, each staring down one of the remaining creatures.
"I certainly didn't count on your intervention," Rarity said, her tone carefully neutral, eyes still fixed on her much larger foe.
"Pleasantries later," Trixie replied. "What are they?"
"Diamond Dogs. Awful creatures. They forced me to work in their mines once."
"Clever?"
"That one's a fast learner. Aside from that, I should say not."
Trixie nodded. "Then on three, we switch. Three."
Rarity didn't have time to respond before the two swapped places, a single, fluid movement. Immediately, the Diamond Dogs both dove at them, snarling. The attack was short-lived, as Fido backed away from a sudden series of flashes in his face; the other one simply had his momentum redirected, and crashed into the back of the stage.
Trixie grinned, turning to Rarity. "Not so tough, are they-" she began, but stopped as she felt something lift her off the ground, constricting uncomfortably around her neck and chest. She was brought face-to-face with Fido, suspended by her cape. The beast's breath blew her hat off, and it landed at Rarity's feet.
All Trixie could do was roll her eyes. "Trixie was trying to have a conversation," she said. "If you interrupt again, Trixie will personally see to it you enjoy an extended stay in one of the new hospital rooms." Confused, the Diamond Dog didn't react, so with a snort, Trixie plucked off his collar with her magic, and refastened it around his eyes. When he released her cape to remove it, she promptly slammed into his leg, sending him toppling to the ground.
Fido flailed momentarily, but went abruptly still when he felt Rarity's hoof on his temple. "Now then, I suggest you mind your own business from now on. Unless what you truly desire is another humiliating defeat," she said, very calmly and slowly. Fido, still blinded, immediately leapt to his feet and ran off in a panic, followed by the other two Dogs.
Rarity watched them go before turning to Trixie with a sigh. "Thank you for your help, Trixie," she said, lifting the fallen hat and returning it to Trixie's head.
Trixie waved a hoof dismissively. "No need to say anything. If you want to thank Trixie, include her in your next show."
Rarity stared for a second, then laughed into a hoof. "Very well, it's a deal." She started to say something else, but cut herself off, looking around Trixie at the cape on her back. "Oh dear..."
~#~#~#~
"Trixie, dear? Are you alright?"
It took Trixie a moment to process the question. For some reason her mind felt a bit hazy. Slowly it came to her. When she saw her reflection, she had yelped, backed away, and managed to trip over herself, finally hitting her head and slumping against the wall.
"I am... fine, thank you, Rarity," she said, climbing back to her feet and brushing herself with a hoof, an idle action that served no purpose, since the Boutique was immaculate as always. "I thought I saw something, for a moment."
Rarity looked even more concerned about that. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
Trixie shook her head with a smile, stepping forward to lay a small kiss on Rarity's cheek. "It's nothing to worry about," she assured her. "Are you ready?"
Rarity started to respond, but hesitated as she remembered what she'd been doing before she'd come running at the noise. "Ah, well, I'll just be another moment, darling. Do hold on."
As Rarity's form retreated back into her bedroom, Trixie's gaze slowly shifted back to the mirror.
I don't want her to worry, but I know what I saw. My reflection moved on its own. And... I thought I saw something else, but...
Trixie approached the mirror, studying it carefully. She raised a hoof to touch it tentatively, tracing over it.
She jolted back as the sound of laughter unexpectedly filled her ears. It was a strange sound, nothing like the laughter Trixie was accustomed to. It wasn't like the light, airy laughter of her beloved. It wasn't like the mirthful, raucous sound associated with the Element of Laughter. It wasn't even like the vindictive, mocking way she herself had once laughed, years ago. It was something else, grim and dark, that filled Trixie with a sense of dread, and she tried to shut it out of her mind. She turned and headed for the door, but found herself stopping there, pressing her forehead against the wood.
Hoofsteps behind her announced Rarity's return. "Are you certain you're alright?" asked the white unicorn, moving to place a hoof on Trixie's back.
"It's nothing to worry about," Trixie repeated. "I just need some air... in here, your presence is just too intoxicating," she said, finally remembering herself as she turned to meet Rarity's lips for a brief moment. Here she was, still the ever-confident pony she had always been, preparing to escort a beautiful mare on a wonderful date. Had she really been about to let an uppity reflection ruin her playful disposition? Rarity laughed, and Trixie found the sound driving whatever that hallucination had been from her mind.
~#~#~#~
"Clockwork? What happened?"
Clockwork stood at Twilight's door, her normally-white mane slightly gray and her coat looking singed in several places. She coughed once, and a small cloud of smoke escaped her mouth.
"Small lab explosion," she explained with a shrug. "No big deal. My old man was an earth pony, so I think I can take a little boom. Anyway, you made some progress on those parts?"
Twilight nodded uneasily, and cast a small dampening spell to remove the debris from Clockwork's hair. "Well, my friends should be adding their touches today... hope they got the packages alright," she said, biting her lip.
"And the big one?"
Twilight waved a hoof to the basement door. "It's down there. I haven't used it in years, so it'll be nice to see it put to good use." She hesitated for a second. "What exactly IS the Aura Amplifier, anyway? You've talked about it, but you've never really given me a lot of details. What are you trying to do?"
Clockwork's eyes lit up. "I haven't said? Ohoho... I'll have to bring my notes over next time. For now, let's just say it does whatever you do."
Twilight snorted at this. "That's nowhere near good enough. I want to know something substantial," she said, tapping a hoof impatiently.
Clockwork raised a hoof, signaling Twilight to be patient. "You know I'd love to tell you more," she said with a chuckle, "but I really can't explain it without those notes. I promise, I'll tell you all about it later. Okay?" She smiled calmly, patting the librarian on the shoulder.
Deflating slightly, Twilight nodded. "Alright. Next time. And no excuses," she said, smiling back. "Now, let's go have a look at that part!"
~#~#~#~
Pinkie Pie hummed a happy little tune as she swept the threshold of Sugarcube Corner, a kerchief perched atop her poofy mane and an apron tied around her waist. Today was a happy day, but then, for the bouncy pink mare, every day was a happy day. On this particular happy day, she happened to glance out the window.
Mrs. Cake turned her head at the sound of Pinkie's gasp, but saw only a broom falling to the floor.
"Hey! You two! Come in, come in!" called the excitable pony, waving down her approaching friends. Rarity grinned as she trotted up to the doorway where Pinkie was waiting. Trixie, meanwhile, kept her face in her long-accustomed neutrally smug expression that, somehow, never seemed to hide how she actually felt. Today it was "tense, but happy". Pinkie decided to ponder that one inside, and quickly ushered them in to a table.
"So, what are you two up to today?" she asked as she took a seat across from them.
"Oh, we're out for a peaceful day together, you know," Rarity said. "A good meal, a walk in the park... and calling on some friends, I suppose." She giggled softly, knowing full well that with Trixie, it was unlikely that this day would be peaceful after all; it was almost certain that the mare could never be broken of her performer's ways, and Rarity was quite alright with that.
Pinkie nodded and hopped to her feet. "Well then, you two just sit right there and I'll make sure you have a super-duper lunch to get your date going right!" Rarity started to protest, but Pinkie raised a hoof to silence her. "Rarity, you do things like this all the time. I mean hay, so does Applejack. Between the two of you, everypony already knows how this conversation goes."
At this point, Pinkie settled back onto her rear hooves, producing a pair of perfectly generic sock puppets from... where was she keeping them? Neither Rarity nor Trixie, keen-eyed though they were, had seen her actually procure them... and proceeded to act out the entire conversation in question, waving a puppet around wildly to indicate when it was "talking".
"I can't let you do something like that, it's too much trouble, or at least let us pay you! Nuh-uh, you're my friends and I want you to have nice things! Well, if you insist, then I guess I should accept your generous offer! Oh, I do, so you just sit tight while I take care of everything!"
As soon as she had finished that, she darted off, both puppets falling to the ground behind her, leaving her guests staring nonplussed. Seconds later, she was back, now wearing an outfit that looked like she had just taken it from a waiter at the most upscale dining establishment in Canterlot. Quick as a flash, she closed all the curtains, dimmed the lights, and set a lit candle on the table.
"Welcome to your candlelit lunch at zee Shyoogarcube Cornahr," she drawled in an extremely terrible imitation of a foreign accent she had heard a griffon speak in once. "I weel be your waitair for zee afternoon. We weel start with le appetizair."
Before either Rarity or Trixie could utter a single word, a plate of pastries had been set between them and Pinkie had retreated into the kitchen.
"Rarity?" Trixie began.
"Yes, dear?' Rarity responded.
"Your friends are weird," said Trixie.
"Yes, I'm aware," Rarity replied with a small sigh. She leaned over and kissed Trixie on the cheek. "And they're your friends too, you know."
In the kitchen, Pinkie Pie hummed a bit as she hastily assembled a beautiful-looking salad, large enough for the two to share. The first thing to go into the bowl, of course, was an entire bag of dates. This was supplemented by apples, carrots, celery stalks, and a good sprinkling of assorted flowers. As soon as she had put the finishing touches on the salad, and scooped it onto a tray, along with a pair of sarsaparillas, and lifted the entire thing onto her head, trotting back out to the table. "Buon apetit," she said as she set it down for the two to enjoy.
The meal progressed smoothly, and Pinkie, watching from the kitchen doorway, was delighted to see that the couple was chatting and laughing more than eating. With a happy sigh, she started back into the kitchen, bumped into something, and jumped three feet in the air.
"Pinkie," the obstacle said, "Why are the lights so low in there? Ponies are going to think we're closed."
Pinkie took a moment to catch her breath. She had been so distracted, she hadn't noticed him entering. "Oh, Mr. Cake, I'm just trying to do something special and extra-nice for some friends!" she said. "You don't mind, do you?" She batted her eyelashes pleadingly.
Mr. Cake looked a little taken aback. Pinkie was very convincing when she wanted to be, and right now she wanted to be very much. "Well... of course not, I just wanted to... they won't be much longer, will they? We do still need customers..." he said, faltering a bit.
"They're almost finished, just give them a little more time," Pinkie said quickly, nodding. Then, after a short pause, she tilted her head. "And, could you please stop tapping?"
Mr. Cake looked confused. "Tapping? I'm not tapping anything."
There was a moment of silence, and then the sound of ponies getting to their hooves caught Pinkie's attention. She gasped and darted back out to see her friends off. Mr. Cake chuckled and glanced at himself in the mirror as he straightened his cap before following to take up a position at the counter.
"Bye, guys! Have a super-fantabulous day!" Pinkie said, giving the two unicorns a big hug and sending them on their way. Mr. Cake nodded his agreement, and Pinkie proceeded to raise her front hooves and clap them twice. Immediately the lights went back to normal and all the curtains opened once more. When Mr. Cake raised an eyebrow at this, she explained, "Installed it a few weeks ago." She trotted back into the kitchen, humming that same happy tune that was always in her head.
"Hm-hmhm hmmm-hm, my hmhm hmmm-hm..."
She paused to listen, and was certain she heard the sound of fireworks from a little way down the road, at which she giggled. In the silence that followed, she scanned the room.
"Where IS that tapping coming from?"
~#~#~#~
"So... tell me about it."
Scootaloo fidgeted with her hooves for a moment, staring at the floor of Rainbow Dash's home. "It's... it's a mistake," she said.
"What is?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking more concerned for the filly than she ever had.
Scootaloo remained silent for another minute.
"Do you remember... the day I got my cutie mark?" she said at last. "I was so excited, I didn't even realize what it was for ten minutes."
Rainbow nodded, wanting to laugh at the memory, but not at all feeling that the timing would be good.
"Yeah, well... after I calmed down, I started thinking about it." Scootaloo spared a glance back at the highly-stylized scooter on her flank. "I'm good at riding my scooter, doing tricks on it, all that stuff. Not just good. I'm the best in Equestria! And you know how I know?" She put a hoof to her forehead. "Because I'm the only one in Equestria. My mom made the scooter to help me learn to fly, and she only made the one. It's great to be good at something, and awesome to be the best, but when you're the best out of one?" She shook her head.
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief. She could see where this was going, and fortunately, the root of Scootaloo's problem was a simple misconception, one that would be easy to correct. She even knew exactly what to say. "Listen, kiddo, you really shouldn't worry about that," she began. "Lots of ponies feel that way, but what you've got to remember is..."
But she didn't finish. Instead, she fell dead silent, listening carefully. Scootaloo, naturally, noticed this. "Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow held up a hoof for silence, standing and making her way toward the door. She pressed her ear to the wall, then the floor, and after a moment, rose grimly. "Stay here," she said, looking at Scootaloo, who only nodded in reply. Then she pushed open her door and walked outside.
Three seconds later, the cloud directly under her exploded, as much as a cloud can explode, as something big and moving very fast slammed into her, pulling her out of Scootaloo's sight in an instant.
~#~#~#~
Trixie arrived back at her tower satisfied that it had been a good day. With a nod to nopony at all, she began climbing the stairs, only to freeze on the third step.
The laughter was back.
She gritted her teeth and moved on. Somepony was watching her. At first, it was just a feeling, but as she climbed, she cast a quick spell allowing her to see the magical sensors hanging in the air. That confirmed it. Not just somepony, but somepony powerful. This tower was supposed to be warded against scrying performed without Trixie's consent. She had even gotten Rarity and Clockwork to contribute their protection.
"Whoever you are, you had better show yourself now," she announced to the empty air. "I'm going to find you anyway." The laughter ceased, but there was no other reaction.
Either Trixie had forgotten just how tall her tower was, or this day had been particularly tiring. By the time she reached her room at the top of the tower, it felt like she'd been climbing for miles. A spell at the ready, she eased the door open, pressing herself to the wall beside it for cover.
She didn't know what she had been expecting; a skeleton to pop out, or something. But a skeleton did not pop out, nor did any creature, living or otherwise. The room was empty. Bed, desk, mirrors, all undisturbed. Just to be sure, she lifted everything, giving the room a thorough sweep. Once she was satisfied, she marched in, turning to watch the door as she shut it - she had heard one too many stories where the villain hid behind the door.
"I'll get to the bottom of this right now," she muttered, marching over to one of the mirrors on the wall, a tall, thin mirror, its marble frame decorated with intricately-carved stars and moons. This one was specially designed to observe her tower. With a spell, she lit it up. "Now show me where you're hiding..." she whispered, watching the image closely.
Nothing. Each room she checked, she saw nothing, and the laughter returned, growing louder, until finally, she reached the top, her own room. The mirror clearly showed the contents as if looking in from the outside. It showed Trixie, standing there staring at the mirror, and the magical aura that naturally accompanied her.
And standing right behind her, the mirror showed Trixie.
Trixie whirled on the spot, but saw nopony, least of all herself. She glanced back at the mirror, which still held the image of two Trixies. Eyes widening in panic now, she cast every protection spell she could think of, then turned to another mirror, not wholly dissimilar to the other but wider and smaller. "Rainbow Dash!" she called out, activating it, hoping the pegasus could reach the tower in time to help her.
The mirror glowed brightly, but there was no answer. Rainbow Dash must be out flying, she thought. She looked to another,this one modestly-sized and square with a simple applewood frame. "Applejack?" she attempted.
After a moment, Applejack's face did appear in the mirror. "Trixie? Somethin' up?" the farmer asked, looking a little surprised. "Ya look like somethin' spooked ya, sugarcube. What's...?"
Even from her limited perspective, Applejack could see what happened next. Every mirror began to shine brightly at once, and one by one ponies appeared in them, Trixie reacting with complete shock. Fluttershy. Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie Pie. Each one looked on in worry as Trixie began to cower away from them, covering her eyes with her hooves.
Then, without warning, the mirrors began to explode, one by one.
The last mirror to go still held the frightened face of Rarity.
