Without Svengallop around, Coloratura had found that she really didn't have the option of staying a few extra days in Fillydelphia as she had planned. He had always overseen preparations at the bigger venues, and would leave several days in advance to make sure everything was ready. As she hadn't yet found a replacement for him, the responsibility for those now fell to her. So it was that she had bidden farewell to the city, bound for the place where that chapter of her life had begun.
Manehattan was exactly as she remembered it, eternally vibrant and busy. Everywhere she looked, light gleamed off a shop window in a variety of colors. There were the vendors on the street corners, giving a smile free and a flower for a bit. A small sigh left her as she trotted through the streets. It was good to be back.
It was when she passed a certain famous venue on Bridleway that she noticed a series of posters proclaiming an upcoming performance. The name printed there seemed familiar. She had heard it in passing a few times over her last tour, and reactions had run the full gamut. Some ponies had been eagerly discussing when they would get to see the show. Others had spoken of it only in derisive snorts. It seemed the former crowd was on the rise lately, and Rara was curious to see what it was all about herself.
She double-checked the date, and noted that it was the day before her concert. She put a hoof to her chin, considering that fact. It was exactly the right time to attend, after she'd been to the concert hall and the school. Yes, that all sounded like a perfect idea.
~#~#~#~
"Well, Trixie, I believe congratulations are in order," the manager declared, extending a hoof. "It looks like you've drawn a full house tonight."
A full house? Trixie beamed proudly. Ever since her last little adventure, attendance had been growing, and she felt like she had really earned her return to the spotlight.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Arthouse. You've been a great help." She shook his hoof as calmly as she could. Then she glanced around the backstage area, the props all meticulously placed. After all her efforts, she expected a perfect performance tonight. "Are Peppers Ghost and Miss Direction ready?"
The manager nodded. "They'll be here in just a moment. And so you know, I've enjoyed having you here. Now get ready to break a leg."
Trixie took her mark and stood facing the curtain, eyes closed, and took a few deep breaths to center herself. The audience was waiting just on the other side, and it was time to stop making them wait. She heard her two assistants step into place beside her, could feel them nodding tensely to each other, and she shot each of them a calm smile.
Then, the curtain opened.
With some modicum of curiosity, she quickly assessed the crowd. The thing that immediately got her attention was that several rows seemed occupied by local schoolkids, a field trip of some kind. She caught sight of a favorite fan of hers, and then saw that next to her was the chaperone of the group.
Funny, Trixie thought, she bears a passing resemblance to Countess Coloratura.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome to a display that will astound, amaze, and amuse," she announced. "Witness the mind-bending magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
~#~#~#~
The Great and Powerful Trixie did not, as a rule, follow celebrity news.
She did, however, pay attention when a performance was announced nearby, and this concert was a hard one to miss. And, naturally, like any self-respecting mare, she absolutely had to see Countess Coloratura live, because to miss such an event would be the greatest failure one could achieve.
What she wasn't expecting was that there was no longer a "Countess Coloratura". Instead, she went by the (much easier to pronounce) name of Rara. And though the new name came with a new look, she found it one that was instantly familiar to her as soon as the singer stepped onto the stage.
Her jaw dropped. She had seen this mare just yesterday. The one in the audience, with the school trip.
Countess Rara had been at her performance. She had performed for royalty, and she hadn't even known about it.
And that was why, afterward, when the artist formerly known as Countess took some time to meet with her fans, a slack-jawed Trixie could find nothing to say. She tried, honestly, but her mind wouldn't cooperate. She could blurt out something like "I saw you" or "you filled my audience", but she didn't think that would help her.
Fortunately, Rara had no such problem. "Hey, good to see you, Trixie," she said, as if this were the most casual meeting of her life. "You know, the schoolponies really loved your show yesterday. I thought it was pretty great, too. Why don't you come see me later? I'd love to chat with you for a while, one-on-one."
Trixie nodded dumbly as the singer wrote down directions to where she was staying. Had she really made that much of an impression with a single performance? Come to think of it, standing there with her mouth open probably wasn't helping that impression. She accepted the paper and bowed her head in gratitude. "I'll be there," she managed. "Thank you." She backed away, resisting the urge to drop a smoke bomb and run. Finally, her lips managed to cooperate long enough to smile.
~#~#~#~
It had been hard to imagine what Rara could want to speak to her about, but she never would have thought to guess this.
As soon as Trixie knocked, the door opened and she was escorted into a luxurious suite. Trixie was not by any means living in squalor, but this place made her apartment look like a hole by comparison.
"Have a seat," the singer offered, gesturing to a grand white couch.
Trixie did so, politely depositing her hat and cloak on a hook by the door. "Trixie has seen castles less lavish than this."
"Yeah?" Rara chuckled. "Tell me about them."
"I will." The blue mare scratched her head. "But, you know, I'm curious about why you invited me here."
"Ah. That." The hostess shook her head. "I fired my manager recently," she explained. "A few stops ago on my tour. And since then, well, it's been difficult. So, when I saw you perform, I started thinking. You're an extremely talented mare, and you're probably going to want to go on the road soon yourself."
Trixie had to admit she was right; Manehattan was simply the last stop between "touring small towns for a living" and "touring big cities for glory". Everypony knew that. Even her assistants would be moving on to other things soon. "True, Trixie does yearn to travel Equestria once more. And that's why you invited me?"
"Well, I had a proposition to make. We should join up. If we tour together, we can split the work of booking, setup, and everything, until I get another proper manager. Plus, I think I'd like to have somepony with me who enjoys what they do as much as you do. What do you say?"
Trixie's immediate thought was that it was an unusual partnership. She rather hoped this wouldn't mean she was simply an opening act. It was true, though, that they could split not only effort, but also costs. And perhaps, in time, they would be able to develop a special routine that used both their unique talents.
"Alright, I'm in," she said at length. "I'll have to let Mr. Arthouse know… and who knows how my assistants will take the news. But I think this could be the start of something fun."
~#~#~#~
Neither of them regretted the decision in the weeks that followed. With Trixie's help, arranging venues became less of a struggle, and scheduling conflicts were rare. The performances themselves were a bit harder to plan. They switched around the order in which they took the stage, and refined things step by step with each new city.
After performances, and after their usual traditions, the two would return to their hotel and chat. It was during one of these chats that Trixie noticed a photograph that always seemed to be in Rara's possession. She never got a very close look at it, and it was rather faded, but from what she could tell, it seemed to be of a young filly. There was something strangely familiar about it.
She didn't want to offend Rara by asking too personal a question. As time went on, however, it seemed to grow more significant. Sometimes, Rara seemed to become distracted when Trixie asked her about something, seemingly random things like her old manager or a cute stallion in the audience. Her eyes would slowly drift to the photograph, almost as if asking it the question. Trixie would clear her throat gently to get the conversation back on track, and the songstress would apologize, as though she'd been caught doing something surprising.
Eventually, her curiosity overwhelmed her admittedly limited tact.
They had just concluded a performance in Haykron, which had gone perfectly, with some effort. As they caught their breath in the hotel room, Trixie turned to her partner and saw her glance at the picture. "What's that?" she asked, leaning closer to see.
Rara seemed a bit confused for a moment. "Oh, I've never explained this?" She held the thing up in front of her. "This is an old picture of a friend who was very special to me as a filly. We reconnected when I was in Ponyville on tour, and, well… it's kind of complicated."
If anything, that statement only made Trixie more curious. "Complicated?" she repeated, leaning forward. "How so?"
"Like, um." Rara blushed and motioned with her hooves. "Well, like I said, we were really close as fillies, and she remembered me too. So, well, things happened, and, I don't know, I think I wanted to be… closer?"
"You mean reestablishing your friendship?"
"I mean, like… intimate."
"Hm, Trixie sees…" The magician paused for a moment, her mind replaying the last few seconds of the conversation. "Wait… did you say this was in Ponyville?"
"Yeah?"
Trixie looked down at her seat. This was… surreal. Almost like a sign. Her mind conjured images of the village unbidden, as it sometimes did; the enemies she'd made, now friends she hadn't seen in too long. How many traveling performers had fateful encounters in Ponyville?
There was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Rara asked. There was no answer.
"May Trixie see that photo?" she asked, after a moment.
Obligingly, the other mare passed her the photograph, and for the first time Trixie was able to get a really good, long look at it. The colors were a little off due to age. Ultimately, though, there was no mistaking the filly. Even her mane hadn't changed over the years.
"I know her. It's, er, a long story. Trixie has history in Ponyville. In fact, I—" She stopped short, drawing a confused look from her partner. "Well. It seems like it would be hard to stay in touch while you're on the road and she's got apples to corral."
"Yeah, I know," her companion replied with a sigh. "But that was how I felt. When I get back to Ponyville I want to try and work things out with her. But I need to find a new manager before then. Even working together, I don't know if we'll have enough time."
Trixie nodded slowly. "Yes. Finding a solution should probably be a priority for both of us."
There was a knock. "Who is it?" Trixie queried, but no answer came.
"Both of us?" Rara questioned.
"What about both of us?" Trixie replied, half-distracted by the door and half-distracted by nothing at all.
"You said it should be a priority for both of us."
"I did, didn't I." Trixie nodded. "Well. Trixie also left somepony in Ponyville, although not on such an optimistic note."
"Really?" Rara seemed to perk up at that. "Tell me about it."
Trixie took a moment to think it over. "Well, I'm sure you know her. She's… a friend of Applejack's, actually. And she's a hero. She saved Trixie, twice so far. And I suppose in the process I've become fond of her. Well, not just for that. We have a lot in common, but she has a kind of purity that I've never had, and it draws me to her. And just to top it off, she's easy on the eyes. It was hard at first, but I shouldn't deny it." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a hoof. "I'm in love with a girl with wings. This is going to be Tartarus."
The musician seemed stunned. After a moment, she began laughing quietly to herself. "Well, maybe we're better partners than I thought. Maybe it was destiny that we were going to team up."
"That's a strange destiny."
"Not a bad one, though."
"No, Trixie will give you that. So we're to be partners in wooing, then?"
"The only way to find out," Rara posited, "is by going home to Ponyville."
There came a knock. Both of the mares turned to the door and called out, "Who is it?!"
Whoever it was wasn't saying anything.
Finally, Trixie stood and slunk over to the door. She opened it slowly, and just as she suspected, a lanky brown stallion with an impossibly curly mane and a garish yellow shirt bounded into the room.
"Did somepony say Ponyville?!"
