Trixie's Guard

III: An Incredibly Posh Restaurant

“Wait, Trixie? As in Trixie Lulamoon?”

The other guards could barely contain their laughter as Flash retold the night before.

“Well, that’s what the name on her desk said.”

“Was she wearing a big old witches hat, all covered in stars?” Chipped in another, banging his hoof against the locker beside him. The whole guards changing room was raucous now. Flash had had a long day, and just wanted to get ready for his date in peace. Why did he ever mention it to the guys?

“I wasn’t going to ask her about the attire, but yeah, she was.”

Howls of laughter.

“Oh my Celestia dude! You have no idea what a clown that mare is! She thinks she’s some big stage-show magician, but it’s all a joke! Didn’t you see when she played her show here in the Crystal Empire?”

Flash racked his brains, but only found himself drawing a blank. He shrugged nonchalantly. The vocal guard was quick to fill him in.

“Well, she rocks up in the city square one day, dragging behind her this huge as heck wagon. She parks it up and it all starts to unfold into this ridiculous looking stage. I don’t think she had permission to be performing in the city, or at least none of us guards were informed. So anyways, ponies start gathering round her as she starts bellowing about her incredible talents. You could tell she was all smoke and no fire, but you know what the crystal ponies are like. They’ll cheer for anything that isn’t trying to kill or enslave them.”

The entire locker room had quietened down, the guards all stopping to listen to the story. The occasional snigger and guffaw broke out amongst the stallions that already knew how the story ended.

“So, she does this trick where she makes an apple vanish. POOF! It’s gone. And then she makes it reappear behind her. YAWN I’m thinking, watching this foal-level magic show. She places it down on a table, but doesn’t seem to notice it roll off onto the floor besides her. She barrels straight into the next part of the performance, some kind of light show. The fireworks shoot upwards, ponies are ooh-ing and ah-ing, and Trixie takes a step back to get a better view of them. But get this, she steps backwards onto the apple she forgot about, slips on top of it and goes head over heels off the side of the stage. She lands in this trash can by the stage head first, and is completely stuck!”

The locker room bursts into life as stallions laugh heartily, banging their hooves on tables and lockers. Some are rolling about, a couple wipe tears from their eyes. All except Flash, who rolled his eyes at the callousness of his cohorts. The stocky guard telling the story smiled at his friends before wrapping up.

“Yeah, so here she is, stuck. Everypony is laughing at her, and those fireworks just fizzle out. Kinda like her show. But she must have hurt her horn or something, because she didn’t cast a spell to teleport out of there or anything. She just ran off, head still in the can, bumping into every poor pony that didn’t notice her coming! And that’s who you have a blind date with!?”

Flash Sentry stood tall. The guys were guys, but he still wished they’d show a little more respect at times. Everyone had rough days, and that poor mare was no different. He stared over at the stallion that told the story, watching him roll around the floor in a fit of giggles, joining the crowd of laughing hyenas around him. Looking up to the aged clock that hung from the wall, Flash noticed the time. That late already? Defiant, he span on the spot and headed for the door, the guards finally starting to finish laughing. He was going to be late for his date if he wasted any more time with this lot.

***

Flash nervously tapped his hoof against the table as he waited. The restaurant he’d suggested to Trixie was getting incredibly busy: it was a rather popular place in the city, after all. Popular, fancy and expensive. He checked the clock again before beginning to gaze out of the window. How much longer was she going to take? Was she even coming? Had she been and missed him? Had he got the time wrong? He checked the clock. No, the time was definitely right. Or was it?

He was about to ask one of the waitresses for the time before noticing Trixie walk through the front door. She still wore her cloak and hat bedazzled in stars, and gave the porter a strange look when he offered to take them to the cloakroom. She raised her nose at the smartly dressed, slightly perplexed stallion before trotting further into the restaurant. Why did she have to wear that witches gear out in public? It was pretty embarrassing.

Oh well. Remain courteous, Flash.

Trixie approached his table, giving a crooked smile and awkward wave.

“Hi there, Flash, sorry I’m a little late. Trixie had to make sure she picked the perfect outfit for the evening. This is a lovely looking place, very posh. It’s perfect, though.”

She leant forwards as she shuffled along the booth seating, her head lolling forwards and her hat falling onto the floor of the walkway beside the table. Flash was quick to lean down and scoop the crumpled hat from the floor, passing it across the table to his date. Surprised by the stallion’s goodwill, Trixie took a hold of the hat and straightened it upon her head.

“Trixie was perfectly capable of picking up her own hat, you know. But thanks, I guess.”

“Ah, that’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

Flash gazed over at his date as she sat down, shuffling slightly as she caught her cape under herself. Her eyes darted up to the sight of him staring, only for Flash to awkwardly shift his focus to the menu in front of him. They both coughed slightly.

“So, Trixie, how are you this evening? What kind of stuff have you been getting up to here in the city? I’m assuming you’re not a regular to these parts.”

Trixie cleared her throat before speaking. She opened her mouth slowly, thinking about each word as she formulated it. Small talk had never been her strong suit.

“I-I’m well. And you’re right, I’m not a regular by any means. I live over in Ponyville with my friends, but a couple of us came up to the Crystal Empire for a bit of a holiday. It’s a stressful life, so you’ve got to take a rest every now and again. Being one of a town’s biggest entertainers really takes it out of you…”

“Entertainer? Do you perform magic shows for your townies as well?”

Trixie grin was wide, but her face looked smug.

“Why yes, I do you know! How did you know I perform?”

Flash rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof, diverting his eyes towards the floor.

“Well, some of the stallions I work with told me about this magic show you did, here in the city."

Trixie suddenly looked flustered, her smile became panicked, and all sense of self-satisfaction was gone. She tried to play it all cool, but she knew her shame was plastered across her face for Flash to see.

“O-Oh, that show? Pfft, it could’ve gone better. Most of my shows are rip-roaring successes, really! They bring the house down whenever I perform at home, I just don’t think it was to the, acquired tastes of the Crystal ponies…”

The poor mare still looked agitated, drumming her hooves on the table as she looked back and forth, desperate for some window into a new conversation. Either that or a literal window through which to escape. Her heart skipped slightly when she felt Flash resting a hoof atop hers. He whispered calmly and slowly to her, encouraging her to feel better about herself.

“Hey, don’t fret about it now. It sounded quite rough, but it’s over now. Besides, I’m sure everypony was enjoying it until the mistake. I know I would have loved to be there.”

He gazed over at Trixie, who slowly stopped shaking. She took several deep breaths and opened her mouth to retort.

“Hello there my friends, can I take your orders please?”

They both glanced up to see a tall, well dressed unicorn mare stood over them, a cloth draped over one hoof and a pad of paper in the other. A pencil floated at the ready by its side. Snapped back to reality, Flash pulled his hooves away from Trixie’s before going about studying the menu. Flummoxed by the string of events, Trixie dumbly stared down at the menu that lay open before her. She was so confused. Why was it that the single short moment had felt so good to her? She’d grown accustomed to the adoration of throngs of ponies. She knew what the love of a fan felt like. But this was different somehow. It had only been brief, but in that moment Flash had rested his hooves atop hers and spoken such kind hearted words, Trixie had felt something she hadn’t felt for years. Her mind raced as she stared at the menu.

“And for you, Miss?”

She jerked her head upwards to see the waitress gazing down at her. She had taken Flash’s order and now waited impatiently by Trixie’s side, the pen floating ever closer towards the pad of paper. Still muddled, Trixie smacked her hoof down against the menu, not even looking at where it landed.

“That please thanks.”

The waitress raised an eyebrow before leaning down to get a better view. She took note of one ‘seafood platter’ before thanking the two ponies and heading for the kitchen. The silence she left behind was awkward and heavy. Clearly neither pony was quite sure what to say to each other at this point.

“So, Trixie, the food here is served really quickly! It’s so quick you’ll barely notice it arrive and go down until you are staring at an empty plate!”

Trixie patted a napkin against her lips and stared down at an empty plate. She felt bloated after wolfing down an entire seafood platter, but by Celestia had it tasted good. She was tempted to order another, but she could barely move as it was. Flash too looked content, rubbing his belly as he swallowed the last bite of his Hayseed burger. He masked a quiet belch under his hoof, before beckoning a waitress over for the bill. As one arrived he was quick to pay the cost, before walking Trixie outside the restaurant. The evening air was cold, especially after the warm embrace of the restaurant. Trixie could feel herself drifting off. She was exhausted after her heavy meal and the long and lucrative conversations. But all that spun round in her head was that hoof holding moment. She had thought it felt awkward at first, but now it seemed closer akin to something else… what was that feeling? It must have been the food on her belly. The two walked back to the Castle in silence, both tired after their first date. It had been a success, and Trixie was taken aback when she realized that.

The Crystal Castle approached. It towered overhead as the two arrived at the large bespoke double doors that marked the entrance. Flash leant forward to grip his hoof around one of the heavyset handles, pulling it open for the mare besides him. He motioned inside as she slowly paced forwards. She hovered on the porch before turning back to talk to Flash. To her dismay the stallion was ready to make a move.

“I’m sorry Trixie, I’ve got to get going. We ended up staying at that restaurant later than I thought, and I’ve got a couple of hours of the night shift to do. I had a great time talking to you though, and I hope we can do this again soon! I need to go get into my uniform, so I’ll see you later, eh?”

And with that he was gone, trotting down the road to the guards barracks. Trixie smiled dreamily, waving after him as he went. Her face still a picture of happiness, she swung the door shut and headed through the hallways to her room.

Her door was the only one on this hallway, so she knew she’d found the right room. It was late, so Starlight was probably going to be asleep in there. Unless she’d stayed at Sunburst’s place?

A glow of blue energy as she pushed the door open. Trixie stepped inside to be greeted by Starlight and her leering grin. The joyous outlook
quickly vanished from Trixie’s face as she tried to regain her normal demeanor.

“Sooo, how did it go Trixie?” Starlight had flopped backwards onto her bed, watching Trixie as she moved around the room. The unicorn rolled her eyes at Starlight’s excitement.

“Honestly Glimmer, you’re acting like a giddy filly at the moment. It was an entirely professional meeting.”

She stared daggers at Starlight as the corners of her lips crept up. First a smile, then a giggle, then a laugh.

“Oh Trixie, I saw you two walking together through the window! You had the face of quite the smitten kitten! If anypony was acting like a giddy filly, it was yoo-oou!”

“Fine, you got me. It went pretty well, and I enjoyed it. He was a surprise. He didn’t keep talking about himself, and he actually seemed to care about me personally. He didn’t just want to talk about the magic shows. That doesn’t mean I’m some silly sap though! And it definitely doesn’t mean that this blind date thing is a good idea! It’s still oh so below me.”

Starlight had tucked herself into bed, smiling contently as she got herself comfortable.

“So, you gonna be meeting with him again? I think you two might have something there!”

Trixie kept quiet.

“Well, Trixie?”

She fiddled with one of the plush curtain ties.

“Don’t ignore me Trixie, come on now…”

She moved across the room and hung her hat on one of her bedposts.

“You’ve got to tell me Trixie, you know I won’t stop asking you.”

Trixie span on the spot to face her friend.

“Fine, yes, I will be seeing him again! He asked if I’d like to meet him again and I said yes! Are you happy now? He works in the castle as a guard so I’ll probably see him around tomorrow!”

Starlight rolled onto her back, punching the air with her hooves. The carefully prepared covers flew free with her violent celebration. She was over the moon at her friend’s change of heart. Perhaps this friendship mission really would be one to report home on? She relaxed as Trixie climbed into bed, magically turning out the lights. With the room engulfed in darkness, Starlight’s mind was alive with thought. Could this stallion even be trusted? Was he a nice guy? If he wasn’t there was going to be trouble. That was when Starlight decided. Come morning she was going to go talk to this stallion for herself, and perhaps even ask the Princess of Friendship about him. Maybe she had a little backstory on the guard?

Morning.

Starlight had woken slowly only to find Trixie fast asleep. She snored loudly as Starlight went about getting ready for the day. Body washed, hair brushed, teeth cleaned. It was time to go find this Flash.

Trotting out into the hallway, it wasn’t long until she’d bumped into the orange Pegasus. He was posted just a few hallways away from her room. He smiled as she approached.

“Hello there Ma’am. You must be Starlight Glimmer? One of the Princess’ esteemed guests. How are you this morning? I trust you slept well?”

Starlight eyed the stallion up and down before responding.

“Yeah, I slept pretty well, thank you. So, I hear you had a date last night with my friend, Trixie Lulamoon. I pray you looked after her?”

Flash smiled, nodding compassionately.

“Of course I did! She’s a lovely mare, and I really hope I get to meet her again soon! She’s not with you is she?”

Starlight shook her head.

“Oh, thank goodness. I wouldn’t want her to see me in this armor, it makes me look so ridiculous. I promise my bum isn’t actually this big.”

He shook his rear slightly to accent his joke, and Starlight found herself smiling. This stallion seemed kind hearted enough, but she wanted to know a little more. She prepared another question, but he spoke first.

“I’m sorry, I’d love to talk properly, but I’m afraid I’m on duty right now and if I got caught chatting instead of working I’d be in it up to my neck. My apologies.”

And with that his body went rigid again as he stood to attention. Starlight looked up at his face, but he wasn’t moving a muscle. Fair enough, it looked like Starlight would have to talk to Twilight after all. She screwed her eyes shut. When she reopened them she was stood on Twilight’s table, staring down at the shocked mare as she went through a small pile of notes from Spike. The alicorn was quickly alive with energy, posing question after question about the friendship mission so far. Starlight tried her best to give short, concise answers. If she went into details she’d be there all day. Finally she got the chance to butt in with her own question.

“Say, Twilight, do you know anything about a 'Flash Sentry'? That’s who Trixie is dating.”

Twilight rubbed her chin in thought, clearly trying to put a face to the name. Her eyes lit up as she remembered.

“Ah yes, Flash! He’s a pretty good stallion! He’s a sweet guy, just don’t let some of the ‘corny factor’ get in the way! I met him at the Crystal Castle when I traveled to the human world – long story – and I think he started to develop a thing for me. I had to let him know it wasn’t both ways, but he had no problem with it! As I said, a good one through and through.”

Starlight thanked her friend for the thoughts, when her stomach rumbled. “I’m sorry Twilight, I just realized I didn’t get any breakfast, I’m starving! I’d love to stay and chat but this is gonna have to take priority! I’ll tell you more about it later!”

And with that she was engulfed in a blink of energy before vanishing. Twilight was left alone among a pile of scattered letters and scrolls. Slightly disappointed, she sunk down into her chair again, ready to read the next letter about how the Crystal ponies all loved Spike so huggy-wuggy much.

Urgh.