A bell rang. Nestled within one of the towers of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, its unmistakeable sound spread out all across the grounds and into every classroom. Shortly afterwards, it was followed by a stampede as dozens upon dozens of students eagerly exited their prisons. The halls were bustling with activity, especially those near the mess hall. A military term, taken only after the students' table manners proved that it was necessary.
There, invisible to the eyes of unenlightened onlookers, territories had been carved out by vicious bands of bandits, lead by popular warlords of various cliques. In one corner, the comic enthusiasts, in another, the drama queen ensemble. These cliques constantly waged a hidden war to gain more cafeteria space, because, as all older students well knew, who owned the mess hall, owned the... no, actually, just the mess hall.
The pointless nature of these power struggles was not lost upon the vast majority of the students, who proceeded to just sit down and eat their oats. And two charming young fillies were no exception to the rule, nestled somewhere roughly in the centre of the room, not that it mattered.
One could be described as reserved, perhaps just a bit regal. Her coat was like a darkened sky and paired with a beautiful, stylised mane of pearlescent blue. A pair of violet eyes watched her friend, even as she giggled uncontrollably.
The friend in question, busy daydreaming about a certain popular professor, was a different sort. More athletic than her compatriot, with a short-cut, azure mane on her dark green coat. A pair of light brown eyes, almost the shade of honey, gazed into space as she just kept going:
"And did you see the cute little tie he had? Golly, he looked great."
"Of course he did! Professor Faun always looks great, you dummy. Now come on, we need to finish the meal before our next lesson."
"Yeah, yeah," she sighed, "you ever wish you were older, Trix?"
"I wonder what put that question in your head, Nova."
As the athletic one prepared to utter a cunning, no-doubt vicious retort, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a short, omnipresent beep, followed by the always-comforting voice of the school's regal principal:
"Good day, dear students. I would wish to once again remind you that the school library will be off-limits to all unauthorised ponies for a short while, a few days at most. If you nonetheless urgently require certain texts from the regular section, contact the library staff directly and study of these materials can be arranged. Materials from the restricted section are not available under any circumstances."
Nova Strike gazed for a few seconds longer at one of the many magical instruments which carried the princess' voice across the school grounds, then turned back to Trixie:
"Good thing we don't need all that many advanced materials yet. What's all the fuss about, anyway?"
"Haven't you heard," Trixie leaned in and beckoned her classmate closer in a conspiratory manner, before whispering, "someone broke into the restricted section of the library last night. The staff are checking if anything is missing."
"Woah, that's no good. Why would someone bother, though? Don't you just need to ask for permission?"
"Think, you klutz. The pony who did it clearly didn't expect they'd get permission."
"Ooooh, right. I wonder what they could have wanted..."
"We'll know once the staff figures out if anything is missing. More importantly, though, I can't wait for tomorrow!"
"Oh, yeah, me neither! The Wonderbolt show is gonna' be amazing! I bought the tickets like months ago!"
"Right, that," Trixie's smile was bitter, though she was sure her compatriot couldn't see it, "you've been yapping about it for weeks now, so I hope you like it."
"I do too, I had to save up. Hay, who are we kidding, of course it'll be great! It's the Wonderbolts!"
Trixie's tone suddenly took on posh qualities:
"That much is true, Miss Strike."
Nova followed suite:
"I am glad you agree, Miss Lulamoon."
They both giggled and finished their lunch in a timely manner, before separating to their respective classes.
After a few more sessions of academic cramming, it was time to head home. Canterlot's twisting streets were often something visitors or tourists complained about. A product of long-term organic, rather than planned design, they were often much too narrow, had too many intersections and by golly were dead-end streets prominent.
Trixie had gotten used to them, though. While they seemed utterly chaotic at first, this chaos was at least somewhat organised. Parts of the city relevant to each other could often be navigated via main streets. As soon you wanted to get anywhere else, though? Let's just say it helped to have a map. Usually.
She arrived home. A small apartment on the outskirts of city. Once, it had just been a place for visits, but now, it was all she had. Deftly, she levitated a small key out of her trusty travel-slash-school bag and carefully opened the door. Immediately, her nostrils were assaulted by the lovely smell of something baking in the kitchen. She called out:
"Grandma, I'm hooome!"
"Welcome home, Trixie," came an ever-cheerful voice, "how was school?"
"Pretty good... mostly, anyway."
"Now, what's that supposed to mean, young lady?"
The filly followed the lovely smell. Her granny was a sophisticated pony and despite her years and a few nagging medical issues, had just as much life in her as 'them youngsters', as grandpa sometimes put it. Trixie took another big whiff and almost started salivating on the spot:
"Is that apple pie?"
"You bet. And it's got them fancy Ponyville apples in it, too. I'll be keeping an eye on you and grandpa, though. Not a single bite until tomorrow."
"Awwwwww."
"Okay, maybe just one," Trixie cheered and giggled, "now, what's this 'mostly good' about?"
"Well," the filly frowned, "I think Nova forgot about my birthday," to this, the filly-in-spirit chuckled, "what's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm sure Nova didn't forget. She's your best friend, after all."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I can feel it in my old bones. Now, stop worrying your clever little head and help me make dinner. That's an order, soldier."
"Yes, ma'am!" Trixie saluted and marched off to gather the relevant supplies for a meal she did not know the ingredients of. Efficiency at its finest.
Biology with professor Faun was always pretty good, and not just because every other developing filly seemed to have a crush on him. Fascinating creatures and plants were a great topics to teach, to boot. A more hooves-on session, though, now that was a special treat. Good thing their school came equipped with a garden.
Their class dug through prepared patches of earth, making just enough space for their little friends. A handsome young stallion watched over them, his coat and mane a creamy and dark brown, respectively. Even as the class did their duty, the professor continued his lecture:
"Now, remember, they are very fragile during these early stages, so be careful when you plant them back into the ground."
Trixie looked over to her sapling. Like all the others, it possessed a thin, green stalk, topped by a dark red, bulbous growth. The arakeshi fireseed was sought for both its beauty and the potency of its namesake, which was said to be one of the spiciest ingredients in the world. For a moment, she wondered if bees would mind the taste, then turned to her compatriot in crime. Miss Strike seemed to be busy staring, rather than listening to the professor:
"Nova, you know we need to plant these things, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," the other replied with a smirk, "where's the rush? We're gonna' be taking care of these for months, anyway."
"Which is dumb," came a new, male voice. The colt it belonged to had a forceful look in his orange eyes. Standing at slightly higher than anyone else of his age, Cedric's white coat and golden mane won him many admirers, which most certainly did not help his attitude, "this whole planting thing is, actually."
His sapling looked like it was dying already. Trixie frowned at him and retorted:
"Maybe you're just too dumb to get it."
"As if. There's no point to planting some stupid plants, then waiting for them to grow. I wish we could just cast some growth spell or something."
Professor Fauns voice came:
"Growth spells are dangerous, just as likely to kill the poor plant as they are to make it grow. Just like your grades if I catch you cheating on the test one more time, Cedric."
As the class erupted into laughter, Cedric's face was red with a mixture of rage and humiliation. He said nothing, choosing instead to slam his sapling into its prepared hole. Trixie and Nova just shook their heads and planted their own.
Trixie patted the ground with her small shovel a few more times and smiled, content with her work. A few months of watering it and making sure no weeds grew in its vicinity and it would bloom into a beauti... an eerie, green glow at the edge of her vision caught her attention.
Cedric was casting a spell. But the white glow of his horn was... different. Small bolts of strange energy crackled around the tip as a small arcane ray shot into the ground around his sapling. Afterwards, he just stared at it.
Trixie's eyes went wide as the sapling suddenly grew. Its stalk branched out, complete with leaves, while the bulbous growth on the top spread open. The fireseed's petals had a dark orange hue and seemed to glisten in the sun. It was beautiful, without a doubt. Cedric grinned like a madman and turned to her:
"Hah, told you! A little growth spell and..."
He was silenced by a loud crack. The stalk and branches, grew taller and thicker, its petals darkened and grew more... rigid? The more Trixie looked, the more they reminded her of jagged teeth. The branches swirled around, turned into tentacle-like arms. The monster turned its head to the sun and seemed to just stay there for a moment.
Then someone screamed like a little filly. Probably Cedric. The thing immediately moved, its prehensile arms turning towards the little white colt, who just stood there, frozen in fear. A shout sounded above the commotion:
"Everyone, get away from it," professor Faun immediately stepped forward, his horn already glowing, "over here, beast!"
A bolt of arcane power struck the beast right between the petals. It reeled back, but did not emit any sound, which actually made it more unnerving. The fireseed recovered swiftly, turning to the source of the magic. Without warning, it released a cloud of crimson dust at the professor, who immediately cried out:
"Aaaah, it burns!"
Coughing filled the area as most of the class was engulfed by the cloud. Nova and Trixie stood side-by-side, the former with a horrified expression on her face:
"Professor! Trixie, we gotta' do something!"
They met gazes:
"Like what?"
"I don't know, you're usually the one with the ideas!"
"O-okay, well, I guess we need to attract its attention, keep it busy!"
"Right," Nova immediately stepped closer and roared at the plant, "hey, ugly," the creature didn't even budge, "huh? Hey, you!"
The thinker replayed the situation. Professor Faun shouted at it and the fireseed... only reacted after it was hit. Of course. Trixie shouted at her compatriot:
"It's still a plant, deaf and blind! We have to attract it with magic! Follow my lead!"
They stood on opposite sides of the creature. Trixie took one last breath, before charging an attack spell. An almost cute blast of energy shot from her horn and struck the plant-beast. Its head turned to face her, while one of its improvised arms slithered closer. It was stopped by another blast of magic to its side. Nova's attack now attracted it instead.
So they went back and forth, drawing the creature's attention in one way or the other, constantly keeping it twisting and confused. At least, that's what they hoped. The plant seemed to grow tired of this game of flytrap and pony. It suddenly changed the direction of its assault and its slithering appendage managed to grab hold of Trixie's leg.
She yelped and screamed as she was hefted off the ground and stared at the assailant. The floral terror's petal-teeth seemed to sneer menacingly at her, even as it ignored Nova's further, fruitless attempts at attacks.
And then the sneer was engulfed in fire.
A mighty magical beam cut through the air, slicing the garden horror vertically in half without so much as a sign of effort. Trixie was released and fell to the ground with a pain-filled grunt. Her friend was immediately at her side:
"Trixie, you alright?!"
"Yes, yes, I'm," she gazed first at the monster's remains, charred and withering, before staring towards their saviour. She was rendered speechless on the spot.
On a pair of majestic, white wings, a regal pony descended from the sky, her mighty horn radiating arcane power. Even from a distance, Trixie could feel its intensity. Her mane flowed freely through the air, as if carried by unseen currents, and shone with several colours of the rainbow. Most impressive, perhaps, was the sincere, warm smile, resting beneath a pair of playful, violet eyes.
The Princess of the Sun spoke to the pair:
"Are you alright?"
Trixie bowed hastily and Nova, after the briefest delay, followed suite:
"Y-yes, Princess."
"Now, now, no need for that," the fillies looked up and Celestia winked, "you are the heroes of the hour, after all. As for the hour's villain, he seemed to have botched an advanced spell used to stimulate growth," she finally landed on the ground and took a few steps closer to the base of the slain flower, where Cedric was busy staring up in awe, "do you have anything to tell me, young colt?"
Cedric grew as red as a tomato. His mouth opened several times to speak, but it seemed like he couldn't muster words. Finally, he managed at least:
"I... I-I..."
"Yes?" the princess' voice was strangely soothing.
"I w-was the one who b-broke into the restricted part. I-I didn't take anything, j-just looked around."
"Well, it would seem my visit today has been most productive," she turned to the professor and most of the class, their eyes bloodshot, "Professor, please lead your class and yourself to the infirmary."
"At once, Your Highness."
"And as for you," she turned the two brave fillies, even as her magic levitated Cedric onto her back, "I do believe you've earned yourselves a bit of rest. Consider yourselves freed from further study today."
Nova almost shouted:
"Awesome," a glare of Trixie made her realise, "I-I mean, thank you, Princess."
Celestia chuckled, then turned towards the school building:
"Have fun. I must call somepony's parents for a bit of a discussion."
As she strode away gracefully, along with the rest of their class, Trixie and Nova looked at each other and grinned. In moments, the sound of a spectacular hoofbump filled the area.
"And she called us heroes of the hour, too! That's so cool! Nobody will believe that!"
"Well, it does sound strange, coming from you, of all ponies."
"Oh, shut up, Trix," they both laughed as they navigated Canterlot's twisting streets, "so, you got any plans for today?"
Again, Trixie frowned a little before answering:
"Not... particularly. Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering if," Nova's horn glowed as she retrieved a small envelope from her bag, "our birthday girl would like to join me for today's Wonderbolt show?"
Trixie stopped walking and just looked at Nova's smug grin as she grabbed the envelope out of the air. Sure enough, there were two tickets inside for the 'Wonderbolts Wonderful Display'. She didn't know what to say in that moment, so she merely blurted out:
"You remembered."
Nova proceeded to immediately ruffle her hair:
"Of course I did, you're like, my best friend. I already even cleared it with your grandma. We're going straight to my place and then the show."
"Grandma? You two have been... plotting behind my back!"
"Of course we have. You're so easy to keep in the dark. Oh, and, check the bottom."
"Huh?"
She examined the envelope again and found a small trinket attached to a chain, a necklace of sorts. It was made out of copper, molded into the shape of the crescent moon, with a few noticeable dents from clumsy forging here and there. Trixie looked at it with a smile:
"Ooooh, it's pretty!"
"It is? Well, glad you like it! I know you aren't a Wonderbolts super-fan like me, so I thought I'd make something extra. You keep talking how you love the moon and stuff. Dad helped me a lot, I'd be just as likely to burn down the forge otherwise, but..."
At that moment, she was cut off as Trixie flung herself around her friend:
"Thanks, Nova," she whispered while almost crushing somepony's windpipe, "you're the best."
"Don't I know it."
They laughed once again, before challenging each other to a race through the streets, under the sun's smiling gaze.
Author's Note
Best friends forever.
Maybe.
