Blueblood's Blush.

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

Chapter 1

The wind silently swept through the fields of the grass surrounding Canterlot Castle. Each blade seemed to carry its own story with it. Some stories of despair and others of hope. Our story today is an odd one. One of love and redemption.

It all began in the highest tower of Canterlot Castle. Celestia’s nephew, Prince Blueblood, was pouting as he looked across the land. A strand of his blond hair blew in the delicate wind. This windy and chilled weather had replaced Canterlot's normal sunny and peaceful climate. Typically, the weather brought upon an aura of calm and peace. “Perfect weather”, some would call it. “Boring” was Blueblood’s adjective. The monotonous weather just seemed to flow into his dull grey mishmash of everyday life. His routine was the same. Wake up, get ready, walk around, eat, sleep. Every day. Somewhere between the eating and sleeping parts he would do just what he was doing now, look out of his window, out at the ponies living their boring lives just as he did. It was sad, really. At least, Blueblood thought it was.

The sun was still high in the sky that evening; it shone down upon the castle, highlighting the stained glass and putting the Prince’s room in the shadows. The white stallion picked his head up from the pillow he was resting on. He stomped his hoof, signaling one of his many servants to come in.

A green pony with a red mane trotted in, keeping her head down both out of respect and fear. Prince Blueblood was not always the kindest of ponies.

“Y-Yes s-sir?” The green mare spoke with a shaky timid voice. This was the Prince’s first encounter with this particular servant.

“A glass of the wine from the Canterlot reserves.” The prince’s voice had an uninterested tone as he rested his head back on his pillow.

The green pony bowed low. “Yes, sir.”

The Prince did not turn his head as the mare trotted away. He treated his servants badly. Yes, he’d admit to that. He remembered the constant lectures from Celestia and the classes he had taken to learn manners. He just didn’t care.

A few minutes later, the sound of carefully placed hooves could be heard from down the hallway. Blueblood’s ears pricked up at the sudden sound of hoofsteps. He once again rose his head in anticipation for the green mare.

She entered the room a few seconds later with a silver platter carefully balanced on her head. Each step was carefully placed as her body trembled in fear in an attempt to keep her balance.

Blueblood sighed and shifted his body, waiting for her to cross the room. It seemed to take the mare an extra long time just to approach. Each of her careful steps only made Blueblood’s temper rise.

After a few more painstakingly long and timid steps, Blueblood finally got impatient and stood. “Can you not go any faster?” He said with a stern voice. The mare squeaked and took a quickened step towards him. In her rushed state, one of her hoofs caught on the carpet and she tripped. The wine glass slipped off the silver platter and emptied its contents onto the prince.

The wine soaked into his well-kept blond mane and perfectly-groomed white coat. He clenched his teeth and looked down at the trembling mare. Her face was hidden underneath her hooves. She cowered and sobbed silently, begging the prince to not hurt her.

Blueblood slowly breathed in an attempt to calm himself. “Out. NOW!” He could not help but bellow the last word. The green mare was out like a flash, her red tail whipped out of Blueblood’s sight as he looked back up.

The wine had only seemed to have landed on him and not any of his precious furniture. Thank Celestia for that. The prince used his unicorn magic to grab a towel that was sitting on his table. He sopped up a bit of the wine from his coat and mane.

The familiar sound of hoofsteps rung in his ears once more. ‘Great. More annoyances,' thought Blueblood. He tossed the towel onto the floor and quickly shut the door with his magic. He did not want to be bothered. He walked over to his bed and laid down.

Only a few seconds passed before a yellow glow surrounded the door. The prince lifted his head to see Princess Celestia walk into his room. He quickly jumped off the bed and gave a half-hearted bow to his princess.

“Is something the matter, nephew?” said Celestia. She took in the red tinge to his wine-stained mane and raised an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”

“Just fine, auntie,” Blueblood replied in a mocking tone.

“I heard a yell. Was that you?” Celestia picked up the fallen wine glass with her magic and placed it on the table along with the used towel.

“Yes, auntie. It was me. I was upset because another one of your timid servants failed to perform their duties.” He scowled at the spot where the green servant mare had stood moments before.

Celestia frowned. “They are not servants, Blueblood. They are ponies, just like you and I. I expect you to treat them with as much respect as they treat you.”

The stallion huffed and started brushing his mane. He did not care. The servant deserved it anyways.

Celestia looked at him, her eyebrow still cocked. “You spend far too much time alone up here, nephew. I want you to get out for a bit. Socialize and meet new ponies.”

“Yes, Princess.” replied Blueblood through grinding teeth. It was true that most of his time nowadays were spent in solitude. He used to like meeting others and having marefriends; since his little run in with a unicorn named Rarity, however, he had changed his opinions on mares.

A good ten minutes later, he found himself walking the streets of Canterlot. Nopony bothered him, but many heads turned as the stallion trudged down the pathway. A streak of blue and purple from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked up to see a giant flashing poster with a blue mare in a purple wizard hat and cape standing up on her hind legs. Lights lined the sides and flashed white and pink. The poster read, “The Great and Powerful Trixie comes to Canterlot. See Trixie in person at the Canterlot Gardens.” Blueblood shrugged and continued on his walk.

After a few steps he came to a sudden stop. Going to the show would give him the opportunity to be around ponies like his aunt wanted. Plus, the blue mare on the poster was somewhat attractive.

Blueblood made his decision and turned around to start his walk to the Gardens.

Whoever this Trixie pony was, she better be worth his time.

Chapter 2

The green patch of land that was Canterlot Gardens seemed unaffected by this new weather change. Other than the very rare and mild wind, the area was relatively calm and encompassed with this “perfect weather.” The weather brought about a particular mindset of calmness and quiet. These breezes lightly touched on any soul that just so happened to be in the gardens looking for a sense of peace.

Guards stood by on either side of the door leading to Canterlot Castle. Their gaze was fixed straight ahead, at the entrance to the maze. The maze had not been touched since the return of Discord. It was starting to get a bit overgrown, but the gardener ponies kept it tame as well as they could without getting too close. Off to the left of the maze stood many statues of famous ponies and creatures. The statue of Starswirl the Bearded stood higher than most of the other pony statues, his hoof raised dramatically as if conjuring up a mighty spell. To the right, a stage and a flower garden rested. On the stage stood a mare with a light blue coat and a sky blue mane. She looked out at the empty area of stone in front of her where her audience would be standing in an hour or so. She imagined them there, cheering and calling, begging for The Great and Powerful Trixie to come back onstage. Encore! Encore!

The blue mare froze for a moment. She allowed the warm breeze to dance on her face before she got back to setting up for her show. She placed the fireworks in their holders and opened the trapdoor for her spectacular entrance. She placed a few odds and ends to the side of the stage. Barrels, ropes, bowling pins, a unicycle, bananas, and a wooden plank.

She smiled out at the stone square and sighed. If only she had Snips and Snails with her. They were always such fun to have around. Not many ponies talked to her nowadays, they only came to watch the show. They smile, have a laugh, then leave. Most times they don’t even leave a tip. How do they expect The Great and Powerful Trixie to get by on such a low cash intake?

Yet, she always survived one way or the other. So far, the only town that had caught on to her little magic show was Ponyville. That bunch of stuck-up ponies did not know how to take a laugh or a joke. They were all too serious.

Trixie had to remind herself that the ponies loved her. They loved seeing Trixie’s spectacular shows and mind-bending magic tricks.

Right?

Right.

As the time to the show ticked down, a small trickle of ponies entered the gardens. A few took their place on the stone, wanting to get a good view for the show.

A small filly poked her head out from behind his her mother’s leg. Trixie smiled gently and reared up on her back hooves. She felt the familiar weight of her purple hat and cape press against her body as she used magic to summon them from backstage. “Come one, come all come and witness the amazing magic of The Great and Powerful Trixie!” She shouted to the growing crowd. Excited youngsters ran up and took a seat in the very front, eager to see the unicorn’s magic. Parents rolled their eyes and sat behind them, urging them to calm down. A few individuals walked in and sat near the back.

“Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!” the tagline for most of her shows was clockwork in her mind.

A few more ponies entered and took their places behind the rest of the growing crowd.

A final stallion with a blond mane and white coat walked in. He looked down at the ground and seemed to be muttering to himself. The colt caught Trixie’s eye for but a moment before she reared up once more and set the fireworks off. The young ones wowed and clapped.

“Welcome, Canterlot citizens. Welcome to the most wonderful display of magic any of you have ever seen.” She twirled her coat and began her show.

Chapter 3

The stallion shook the strand of blond hair off of his face as he sat down on the stone floor. Now that he was out of the castle, might as well stay out. He looked back at the ground, pouting. He had only decided to come to the show because of the attractive mare on the cover poster. If anything else, he had come just to show himself that he still knew how to be around ponies. It had been such a long time since he had allowed himself to be out like this. Some could say he had turned sour.

Now, what was the mare’s name?

Trina?

Tia?

Something with a T.

Blueblood sighed at his view of the stone floor before his eyes shifted to his finely manicured hooves. He turned them over, admiring them, and noticed a slight scratch on the side. He let out a stifled gasp of horror as he stared at the spot. “My manicure… it’s ruined… Auntie… this is all your fault. I stay inside so I don’t get…. Dirty.” His bottom lip stuck out as he placed the hoof back down and tilted his head up to look at the stage.

The blue mare with the purple hat was balancing on her unicycle with a bowling pin carefully settled on her nose. She had a look of concentration on her face as she kept her weight evenly distributed. Blueblood couldn’t help but chuckle. She looked ridiculous. Plus, the hat and cape were a total fashion faux pas.

The mare jumped off the unicycle and gracefully landed to the ground. She took a low bow and the crowd cheered. With a sly smile, she looked out at her fans. Everypony was cheering. They loved her! She scanned their faced, observing the awe on them. Her gaze halted on the white stallion in the back.

She saw him chuckling. Laughing at her. Mocking her? Was this a challenge?

She reared up and set off more fireworks, which caused the youngsters up front to ‘wow’ in amazement. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will need a volunteer for her next feat of magic.” Excited little ponies raised their hooves, ready to be chosen. They squirmed and wiggled their arms, trying to make it more apparent that they were willing to volunteer.

“Trixie chooses….. you. The handsome stallion in the back with the pouty face.” She put emphasis on the word ‘pouty’ to get Blueblood’s attention. She smiled and put on a challenging expression.

Blueblood did a double take. “P-Pouty! Volunteer?! I-I…. I must decline,” he huffed and turned his head up.

Some of the crowd’s gaze held on him, their jaws dropping open. He could hear mutters of “Prince Blueblood… here?” and “It’s him!”

Trixie, however, was unimpressed. “Awww. Poor little Princie. Afraid you’ll look like a foal in front of everypony?”

Blueblood looked to the mare, disgusted. He stammered, searching for words. “Hey! I-I…f-fine!” He quickly stood up. The ponies in the crowd moved aside to make a path for the Prince. He took his time, putting grace and power into each of his steps.

Once at the stage, Trixie moved aside to make room for him. He refused to look at her. His nose was held high, pointed at the sky.

Trixie scoffed. "Think you're better than The Great and Powerful Trixie?"

The prince kept his nose in the air.

Trixie used her magic to make a box appear. "Get in the box, if you dare." She smirked at him and pushed him in the right direction.

The Prince took his time to get in.

The moment he was fully and securely in, the latches on the box shut and he was levitated into the air. "A-ahhh!!" he was surprised by the sudden rush of movement. The crowd giggled.

Trixie let out a laugh. "Watch in awe as Trixie saws Prince Pouty Pants in half!" As she spoke she revealed a saw from under her hat. The crowed 'ooh'd and 'ahhh'd.

Blueblood's eyes got wide. "Do WHAT?! No! No no no no! I refuse!" He struggled against his bindings, but there was no use.

Trixie placed the saw on the top of the box. 'Who's laughing now, princie,' she thought to herself. She began to saw into the box.

Blueblood let out a high pitched scream as the saw cut into where his chest would be. The scream was quickly drowned out by the laughing of the crowd.

The audience pointed and roared with laughter. Seeing the Prince scream like a little girl was hilarious to behold.

Blueblood looked at them in horror as the saw blade went straight through him. His ears turned downwards along with his gaze. A hint of red blush crept into his cheeks. They were laughing at HIM. How... how embarrassing.

Trixie noticed the blush and smirked. She opened the box and revealed Prince Blueblood in one piece.

The crowd went wild with cheers and whistles.

The prince was too embarrassed to move. He just stared at the ground, his ears and face still downwards.

Trixie cocked an eyebrow and whispered into his ear. "Wait backstage. Trixie will meet with you there after the show."

Blueblood nodded in agreement and quickly trotted his way out of sight. He had never been treated like this before. Never. Nopony had ever... well... put him in his place. Other than Rarity, no other mare he had ever encountered had treated him as if he were not a prince.

The show went on for a few more minutes before Trixie stepped off the stage, leaving a cheering crowd.

Her blue mane twisted in the late night breeze as she turned to look at the Prince.

Blueblood started stammering again as he looked at her. "I-I... y-you.." He just didn't know what to say to this mare. She was so.... different.

Trixie let out a tired sigh and took a seat on the floor. She looked at the babbling prince and stated, "What's wrong, princie? Cat got your tongue?"

He stomped a hoof down. “I am a prince. I refuse to be treated this way." He once again stubbornly turned his nose so it pointed in the air.

The mare laughed mockingly. “You’re just embarrassed." She brought back the fireworks and props from on stage, placing them neatly in a box and sealing it shut. She made her way back to the prince, her coat and hat vanishing. “All you royalty are the same. Stuck up and afraid of getting your hooves dirty. Afraid of the bustle and boom of the outside world. You just live all protected up in your castle while Trixie is down here, making all the good pony folks happy and entertained."

Blueblood bit his tongue. That was... all true. He felt as if he needed to come back at her with a retort. “Well... you.... You didn't have to put me on the spot. You made them all laugh at me!"

Trixie once again let out a laugh. “You did a pretty good job of making yourself look like a fool."

Blueblood thought for a moment and he looked over the blue mare. As he looked at her, something struck him as seeming rather attractive. Her light blue hair was still twisting and turning in the warm night breeze, and her eyes were a stunning shade of purple.

"WHAT exactly do you think you're doing?" Trixie had noticed him checking her out. She squinted her eyes angrily and pushed her nose against his in anger. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is no prize to be won!"

A blush once again crept into his cheeks at their sudden touch. From this angle he could see her eyes better. Her beautiful purple eyes. His mind raced for something to say.

"Dinner."

Trixie took a step back, confused. "Wh-what?"

He looked away, moving his eyes to the floor and desperately searching as if the words to say would be carved into the floorboards. "Dinner. Erm... y-you and me. At the castle. You... you owe me." Why was he stuttering so much? He used to frequently ask mares out and go on dates. Maybe he was just a bit out of practice. He dared to look back up at her. She looked confused.

"Trixie.... Trixie owes you nothing!" She stomped her hoof to make her point.

Blueblood's ears turned down with disappointment. He nodded and sidestepped the mare before making his trek back to the castle. His blond hair was picked up in the warm wind as it blew across his face, chasing the blush away. He could hear hoofsteps behind him, and he stopped to turn around.

Trixie had taken a step closer. She had a hoof raised. "Trixie, though she does not owe you a thing, will, however, meet you at the castle tomorrow… for dinner.” She allowed a slight smile to brush on her face before nodding and heading back to her stage.

Blueblood grinned and continued home, this time without pouting or staring at the ground. He had a spring in his step and he held his head high in order to nod hello to any passing ponies. For once in a long time he was happy, truly and honestly happy.

Chapter 4

It was about two hours before Trixie had arrived at her mobile home on the outskirts of Canterlot. She had tried to set up closer to where she could perform, but apparently the Royal Canterlot Guards had some pretty strict rules on the subject. She had to twist their hooves just for them to allow her to perform at the Gardens, so she didn’t want to push it.

On her back she carried her box of props and supplies. She shook from the weight of it. Normally, she would have used her magic, but she was too tired from moving her home and today’s show to do much with her horn. Yes, sometimes even great and powerful unicorns like Trixie get tired.

Her mobile house was small and a bit worn down. It looked like a miniature version of a Victorian cottage. The outer walls were painted a fading shade of pink and lined with a newer coat of blue. The roof of the house was ever so slightly caved, giving the whole place an overall warm look. One window sat in the front of the house next to the door and offered a view of the small kitchen.

The interior looked much more lively. The walls were lined with many portraits of The Great and Powerful Trixie, each one of her smiling brightly into the camera. Some of the pictures were of her foster mother. Those were placed close to her dresser, which was fitted with a large mirror and several drawers. Opposite to the dresser was the table and couch where Trixie slept. The final area was the kitchen, where not a single food item sat, except for the bright red apple on the counter. The whole place looked messy and disorganized.

Trixie used her last bit of magic to push open the door. With difficulty, she climbed inside and dropped the box on her torn couch. It bounced up and down a few times before settling. Trixie just laid on the floor for a bit, her hair crossing in front of her face as she gained her breath. After a gasp or two, the mare forced herself up and gripped the box. She opened the box with shaking hooves and pulled out her collection pouch from today's show.

Her heart felt heavy in her chest, for the pouch felt very light. She turned it upside down on her kitchen table and shook it until it was empty.

Tiny clinks and clanks could be heard as the coins settled. A mere seven bits fell onto the table.

Trixie looked sadly at the golden coins before putting them in the drawer opposite the couch. Slowly, she eased herself onto the fluffy couch. Well, it was not as fluffy as it used to be; years of sleeping on it caused it to harden and get lumpy.

She buried her head in the fluff of the armrest and sighed. How could she keep on like this? She didn’t even have enough money to feed herself.

Food... no. She reminded herself to not think of it.

As if her stomach was reading her mind, it let out a low growl.

She sat up to see if she had anything in the house to eat. She spotted the apple on the countertop and her ears picked up.

Then she remembered it was the only apple and that she needed to save it for tomorrow. It wasn’t fair. All these Canterlot ponies had so much money.... Couldn’t they spare a bit or two more?

Trixie recalled the laughter and the smiles on their faces. She thought the show was worth more than a few measly bits.

Her stomach growled in detest of the lack of food.

“Oh hush.” She stood, forcing her mind off of food. The blue mare crossed the floor to the mirror and stared for a moment, checking to see if her hair was that bad of a mess. She spent a lot of time in front of the mirror as it was. She wanted to look perfect for her audience. She was perfect, as far as she was concerned.

Her hair was messed up from the long trip home. She sighed and grabbed the brush next to her.

She held it awkwardly in her hooves, for she was not accustomed to using them for anything. She struggled for a good minute before it slipped out of her hooves and onto the ground.

She let out a long dramatic sigh. “ Honestly! How do those earth ponies do it?” She bent down, picked the brush up with her teeth and attempted at brushing her hair again.

She was more successful this time. Each of the bristles ran through her two-colored mane, putting the hairs back in place and untangling them. This hair brushing calmed her. She closed her eyes as her stomach forgot about her need for food.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she leaned back. She just sat there for for a few moments, allowing her muscles to unwind and relax.

“Oh Trixie. You simply must relax more.” This talking to herself was a frequent thing. It normally hid the fact that she had no one to talk to; but there were those inescapable moments of realization when she knew that she was alone. Utterly and bitterly alone.

Suddenly the image of the white stallion popped into her mind. She jumped out of her chair. “Oh my...I have nothing to wear.” She galloped to her small closet.

She sorted through about 3 different outfits before she found a dress that seemed perfect for the occasion.
The dress itself was a deep purple with a white ribbon tied around the waist that led down the skirt of the dress. The chest was decorated with blue and white stars and dots. In fact, if her wizard hat were to be translated into a dress, it would look quite like this.

She set the outfit aside and crawled back on top of the couch.

As she turned,her gaze once more fell upon the apple. She eyed it hungrily before closing her eyes and curling up. There she fell asleep, eager for the next day and the new experiences it would bring.

Blueblood had a faint smile on his face as he made his way back to the castle. He still had it. He still had a way with the mares. It was not just the fact that he had been able to get a date, but with whom he got it with.

Trixie was her name. He guessed the thing that really sold it were the eyes. They were such a deep shade of purple. This was no ordinary mare, he could tell. Maybe it was the way she carried herself... How she talked about herself in third person. It was, well, cute.

He passed the poster he had seen much earlier that night, the one that had first tempted him to go and see the show. The stallion examined the blue mare on the cover and allowed himself a pat on the back. Nice catch, Blueblood. A real treat for the eyes.

As he continued down his path home, he would nod to any pony he passed; he was not too sure they noticed, since they were too busy bowing to the prince. Nothing could get him off of this cloud nine. Again, the wind stroked at his face and tossed his mane around in its warm embrace.

The Royal Guards parted and let him in the castle. He thanked them and made his way up to his room. He had his eyes closed the whole way, smiling broadly; this, however, turned out to be a bad idea.

He bumped into somepony in his blind moment of joy. He fell to his side and let out a little ‘“Hmph” of surprise.

For a moment, a very brief second, he got angry. His face flushed red and he stomped his hoof. Does no one understand that the floor is DIRTY? He scowled and turned to whoever had the nerve to knock him down.

What he saw was the green servant pony with the red mane cowering once more. Again, she was hiding under her hooves, whimpering. She looked so very scared. Scared of... him. What exactly did she think he was going to do?

His eyes softened at the sight. He cleared his throat, signaling the pony to look up at him.

She did so. Her eyes met his in total horror and fear as to what could come next. He looked down at her, his face emotionless.

Then the prince did something he had never done before. He held out his hoof. No, not for her to kiss it, but to help her up.

At first, she only stared at it. Then she held out her own trembling hoof and grasped his. He pulled her up and before she could say a thing he walked away, this time with his eyes open.

As he turned the corner to the hallway to his room, he saw Celestia before him. He didn’t hesitate to bow. This time it was a real bow.

Blueblood could hear Celestia’s chuckling and straightened up to look at her.

“Did you have fun, nephew?” she asked with a smile traced on her pale face.

“Yes, auntie. I really truly did.”

Celestia was taken aback by his sudden enthusiasm and lack of whining. “ Oh? What did you do?” She looked at him inquisitive and interested.

“Well...” He placed a hoof on his chin, thinking of how to word it. “ I met a mare and asked her out. We’re having dinner here tomorrow.” Straight and to the point.

Celestia’s eyes widened in surprise. “W-Well! That’s wonderful!” She nodded for one of the helper ponies to fetch them a glass of wine.

Blueblood was apprehensive about accepting the cup, as he didn’t want to have another accident. Nonetheless, he lifted the glass simultaneously with Celestia’s.

Celestia took a sip and set it down. She was not really into that sort of drink, but she made an exception for her nephew’s sake.

After the glass, Blueblood thanked his aunt and returned to his room. He dressed in his sleep wear and climbed into his big comfy bed. He smiled as he pushed his face into his pillow. The stallion let out a happy sigh.

He opened his eyes wide, realizing his mood for the first time. Throughout the night, he
had become increasingly more happy.

Why?

He thought over the day and came to a stunning realization.

Blueblood had a crush.

A crush on the Great and Powerful Trixie.

Not only that, but he liked her.

A lot.

Chapter 5

Blueblood stood in front of the mirror, examining his hair to make sure not a single strand was out of place. As usual, he had that little bit of his blond mane that fell in front of his eye. That, however, was not a problem.

Something was out of the ordinary that night. He felt... nervous. Now, this was a new feeling to the prince. Whenever he had gone on dates, he had felt calm, even bored; but tonight was different. He wanted to make a good impression on this mare.

He put on his white suit and pulled on a bow tie. He noticed in the mirror how apprehensive he looked. “Come on, Blueblood. Pull it together. You’ve got this, she’s just a mare.” Only... she wasn’t. She was the most beautiful mare he had ever laid eyes upon.

He trotted to the sink and splashed his face with cool water before starting down the stairs to the dining room. As he stepped, he thought of what to say to her, sometimes even speaking it out loud to himself to see whether it sounded silly or not.

“Hello, ma’am. Might I say you look stunning tonight?” Ma’am? Was that too formal? Was he allowed to call her Trixie? Miss Great and Powerful didn’t sound right...

“Your eyes look truly beautiful this evening.” Was that too forward? Maybe he should focus on greetings.

“Hello, I’m Prince Blueblood.” But... she already knows that.

“Salutations.” Too philosophical.

“Hi!” Not even close.

Before he knew it he was in front of the dining hall doors. The white stallion stared at them for a few moments. His date was behind that door. This night HAD to be perfect.

The door was pushed open and in walked Prince Blueblood. He did his best to put on a charming smile, but it probably looked like he had a bit of gas due to the nerves. He crossed the floor, trying to look as royal as he could.

Then, his eyes fell upon his date. She was sitting at the long table, waiting for him. Her hair was done up and was slightly curled. It shined in the moonlight beaming in from the window. Her dress was a deep purple; the same purple as her hat and cape, and was lined with stars on the front and tied off in a ribbon at the back. The purple matched her eyes perfectly. Her deep beautiful eyes.

He just stood there, looking at her. It was a few moments before he realized that he had legs. He walked the rest of the distance between him and his date, doing his best to not look like a foal.

Trixie looked up at him and gave a half-smirk half-smile. It nearly took his breath away.

“I.. Prince... Hi.” Great job, Blueblood. He took his seat across from her and smiled again.

She laughed at his nervousness. “Many get nervous in the presence of the Great and Powerful Trixie.” She was actually a bit surprised with how he was acting. It was like she was talking to a different pony, one that didn’t act like a prince. She looked him over. He was just as handsome as he was rich.

Blueblood cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say. “So. Wonderful weather we’re having.”

Trixie chuckled. “I suppose so.” She allowed herself to switch into first person.

Blueblood noticed the change, smiled, and looked at the menu in front of him. “M-Mh. What would you like?” He was sweating.

“Hm.. I’ll have the hayseed soup.” She was so hungry.. she could've ordered four bowls, but she had to be mindful of the prince’s standards.

Mindful? Hm. Well that was a new one for Trixie. Maybe this guy wasn’t half bad. He was pretty cute.

Dinner went as well as it could have. Blueblood failed at almost all of his attempts to make small talk, but it was okay since it made Trixie break into fits of giggles. He oh so adored her laugh.

There were a few times when his more stuck-up side shone through. Like when a drop of his own hot soup fell on his coat, which caused him to let out a little whine and a bit of muttering to himself as he furiously tried to clean it up. Trixie, after a humorous sigh, ended up using a common cleaning spell to return his coat back to a dazzling white. It hurt his pride a bit, but he was able to accept that he had been bested and move on.

Trixie was also mostly able to keep her cool. She noticed that whenever she bragged about herself or told a giant fish tale, Blueblood truly believed her. After a few more lies, she started feeling bad. She didn't want him to think of her as something she wasn't. So, somewhere halfway through the dinner, she stopped with the made up stories about herself and instead asked a few questions about him.

This turned out to be a horrible idea seeing as how the prince had decided to go into excruciatingly precise detail about every aspect of his boring life. Trixie didn’t quite mind, but it was a bit much.

After a cup of tea and a light dessert, the two ponies were able to talk a bit more. Trixie wasn’t too keen on revealing her past; it hurt her too much to talk about. Besides, she didn’t want to make everything awkward. They were able to talk about their favorite foods, colors, and clothes. They talked about their favorite places and who they were betting on in the next Wonderbolts race.

Prince Blueblood, having already said everything about his life, had moved on to talking about life in the castle and royalty. After he went on for a few minutes about the whole thing, he noticed that Trixie was not responding as enthusiastically as she did to his other previous statements. It finally hit him that Trixie was, in fact, not royalty. Maybe she was not even rich. He quickly changed the subject.

After about an hour, the date was over. The two just stood there for a bit, neither one of them knowing what to say. Before anything else could happen, their eyes met. They both gave a somewhat awkward smile before something very new happened. Trixie’s eyes got a bit wider as she bit her bottom lip. Her cheeks displayed a hint of red as she blushed ever so slightly.

Then she leaned in, ever so slowly, and rubbed her face on the side of his. She nuzzled him. Not a word was exchanged as she smiled, backed away, and started the walk to her house.

Blueblood just stood there for a moment. Frozen. She... she... she nuzzled him. He watched her go. This night was so... so amazing. Nothing could have gone better. All of a sudden he realized that he hadn’t set up another date.

“WAIT!!” He cantered after her. She stopped and turned to look at him. “Wh-When can we meet up again?”

She smiled gently at him. “You can pick me up after my midday show tomorrow. Keep in mind, The Great and Powerful Trixie does not like to be kept waiting.” And with that she was gone.

Blueblood somehow was able to get back to the castle and to his room. His face had a huge, glazed over look and a grin on it as he slipped into bed. He could not wait for tomorrow.

Chapter 6

The next day, Blueblood was standing out by the stone square in Canterlot gardens, waiting for his date to get out from her show. This would be their second date, and boy was Blueblood excited.

For once he had something to care about other then the rare party he was attending or some stupid ceremony. He never quite got the chance to get to know anypony on a personal basis. Yes, he went out on frequent dates with the everyday pretty face or the celebrity that was in town, but he had never really had anything serious enough to the point to where they really knew each other. Ever since he had met the blue mare,Trixie, his outlook on life and ponies had changed for the better.

The stallion could now admit that he was happy. Yes, happy, for that was something he had not been in a long long time. Sure he looked happy on the covers of magazines with two mares on either side of him, but that wasn't happiness. That was... an act, so to speak.

Other than that, life at the castle was dull and boring. Living up there was not all it is cracked up to be. There was next to nothing to do there, other than boss servants around and walk about the grounds; he often abused the former.

He had a reputation of being an all around jerk to the servants. It never really got to the point where he beat them... but he did often dish it out hard on them. If they messed up, they’d be sent home crying, easy as that.

He could hear from backstage, where he was waiting, the last round of fireworks being shot off, signifying the end of Trixie’s magic show. He could hear claps. He looked to the audience and noticed it was significantly smaller than it was when he first attended. He felt somewhat bad.

Somewhere during the feeling bad part an audience member saw him and stood up to point. “It’s Prince Blueblood!” Other inquisitive ponies drew their attention from Trixie to see this shocking revelation. The crowd at once left the stone square and rushed to the prince, swarming him with squeals and touching him. They touched him with their filthy hooves. He nearly gagged as he tried to squirm away but, sadly, his attempts on escaping the crowd were ineffective.

“What is everypony doing?” rung out a clear voice from behind the stage. “ You ponies are here to see Trixie, are you not?” The blue mare hopped off of the stage and stood behind the swarming crowd. “Well, here I am!” She dramatically raised a hoof to show that she indeed was there.

Nopony spared her a glance.

She sighed and walked over to see what the fuss was about. Then she saw a squirming prince Blueblood underneath the pile of crazed Canterlot mares who wanted to get their hooves all over the prince. Her prince.

The prince looked up to see the tuft of silvery blue mane that was visible through the crowd. He unmistakably recognized it as Trixie and pushed ponies out of the way to take sanctuary behind her.

The crowd took no mind in the change of location and started swarming both Trixie and the prince.

Trixie, shocked by the sudden role of leadership she was put in, thought for a moment. “Everypony!” Her voice rung out above the crowd. “Don’t you all realize that the prince has a horrible infectious disease that has no known cure? Trixie doesn’t know why you’d wish to risk your life to touch a colt of his position.” She smirked inwardly.

One of the mares let out a high pitched scream of horror. “I touched his shoulder! Does that mean I’m going to die?!” The crowd ran away, panicked, to their various doctors to see if they had caught the made-up disease.

Blueblood gagged and stood up. “They... touched me.” His coat was messed up. Some hairs stood up in awkward positions while others stood in the total opposite direction of his grooming. His hat he had put on for the occasion was now missing, and his hoof appeared to have some lipstick on it.

Trixie flicked his nose with her tail. “Awww. Did you get dirty? Poor princie.” She put on a pouty face and used her magic to put away her coat and hat. She did her best to look like the great and powerful Trixie she was, but her severe lack of food gave her a bit of a weak appearance. She had spent her last bunch of money on some apples and a bale of hay; the small bale was half gone, along with the apples.

The mare was also a bit upset at the prince for both stealing her attention from the crowd and taking them away from her before she could collect money. She hoped they would go out for lunch, since she was so hungry.

Blueblood scoffed and tried to polish one of his hooves. “I do NOT have an ‘infectious disease’!” He set the hoof down and crossed over to his date. He did happen to notice just how weak she looked and offered the hoof. “Are you okay?”

Trixie put her game face back on and smirked up at the prince. “How else do you think I could have chased them away?” She packed up her bags quickly with magic and put them aside. “And yes, Trixie is just fine.” She put the bags in a place where she could find them once she had to walk home. Then the mare went back to the prince and sat. “ But... you did steal Trixie’s crowd. And for that, I am upset.” She swiftly brought her hoof down in false annoyance, doing her best not to break into a huge grin. No, she couldn’t stay mad at him. She’d find another way to get the money anyways. She had enjoyed herself the other night; it was fun being at the castle and conversing with the prince. She could truly admit that she liked him.

The prince searched for something to say. “ I-I didn’t mean to! It’s not like I wanted them to come over and mess up my coat! Look at me! I’m fil-.” He was cut short as Trixie nuzzled him in the same way she did the other night. He froze up once more in mid-sentence and just stared at her.

“Trixie was only teasing.” She kept her head there for a moment, gently nuzzling the prince’s mane before pulling back and smiling up at him. “Ready?”

“.. Uh... Yeah! oh yeah, Of course!” he snapped out of his trance and shot up. “ D-Does lunch sound alright to you?” He put his smile back on as he tried to remember the manners Celestia had taught him. He’d been following them fairly well with this mare, not that it was too hard. It was as if he had a reason to be gentlycoltly with this one.

The mare nodded, attempting to hold back her enthusiasm from being offered the food, and quickly led the way to a nearby restaurant.

Unfortunately, the couple was once more mobbed by ponies. Blueblood had to call a couple guards to watch over them.

Trixie’s poor health stood out a few more times during their meal. The blue mare often coughed, despite the constant source of water. She looked weaker than the last time they had met. Her purple eyes were not as vibrant and her movements were not as graceful. This caught Blueblood’s eye. A few times he asked her if she was alright, but she would always reply with the usual “I’m fine.”. Blueblood, though thoroughly concerned, took Trixie’s word for it and continued on the date.

Surprisingly, the lunch went even better than last night’s date. They laughed more and talked more openly to one another as they ignored the looks they got from other couples in the dining area. The Canterlot guards drew as much attention in their dazzling armor as the prince did.

After the meal the couple took a short walk through the gardens. Trixie spoke of the far-off lands she had visited on her travels across the world as Blueblood listened in awe. The prince had never gotten far from Canterlot, and these strange lands that the mare spoke of were like they were something from a fairy tale. Creatures with eagle heads and a lion’s body and a snake so big it could swallow the prince in one bite. Giant three headed dogs and a land full of buffalo. Blueblood listened intently, completely entranced by the tales the blue mare wove.

Trixie didn’t have to lie this time to tell the prince her stories. She had honestly traveled all over Equestria, putting on a show at any city she stopped by. The pony had seen the land where the griffons lived and come in contact with the giant pony-eating snakes. Lying was something that Trixie now felt sorry for doing. She made herself look like somepony she wasn’t, and that was wrong of her. She had made a decision to stop with the fish tales and tell it how it really was.

Unfortunately, the sun started to set as Blueblood and Trixie made their fifth lap around the gardens. Trixie was busy with her stories and Blueblood with his listening. In fact, they wouldn’t have even noticed how late it was if one of the guards hadn’t called Blueblood in for the night.

At first the couple stalled, not ready to leave so soon, but eventually the two ponies nuzzled gently before pulling back and smiling.

“Tomorrow at the same time?” asked a hopeful Blueblood.

“Count on it.” Trixie laughed a bit at his childlike excitement and turned to leave. She felt much better after a good meal and a walk with the prince. Her spirits were high as she made her way back to her stage for a late-night show.

Blueblood smiled widely as he walked back into the castle and trotted to his room. He felt as if he could never be sad again now that he had met Trixie. She was simply wonderful. The prince loved everything about her and he would not be letting her go any time soon.

One thing had concerned him though. He was bothered by how weak and tired she looked prior to their meeting. What could be wrong? Was she sickly? Did she need a doctor?

Blueblood shook his head, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. If it came up again, he’d confront her. Right now, he was happy and he wanted to keep it that way.

As he walked the hallways, he saw Celestia returning from her setting of the sun. She looked tired, and he didn’t blame her; raising and setting the sun each day must take a lot out of somepony.

The prince cared dearly for his aunt. Their relationship had been an odd one at the least. In his life, she had been somewhat of a mother figure to him. She had taken care of the prince and taught him life lessons that nopony else would teach him. In the past he had been quite rude to her; to the point where he could feel his own words cutting into her heart. The thought of hurting her so much made him cringe.

“Auntie!” He decided he would say a few words to the princess and show some respect in place of his usual disrespectful attitude. He trotted up to her side and took a low bow.

“Oh!” She was taken aback by the sudden entrance and display of formality from the prince. “Blueblood. What a pleasant surprise.” She smiled warmly as his head bobbed back up. “How are you today?”

The prince straightened up to face his aunt. “Just great! How was your day?” He beamed brightly up at her. Happiness just seemed to ooze out of him.

Celestia was very much confused by her nephew’s actions. Normally he would brood all day up in his tower. He never smiled, let alone beamed happiness. “It was uneventful.” Celestia thought for a moment before speaking again. “If you don’t mind my asking, what has you in such a mood?” The princess was starting to look a bit concerned. This was just so different. Maybe something was wrong.

“You remember that mare I met up with last night?”

Celestia thought back to when Blueblood told her of his date and nodded.

“Well... we went out again today. And... oh, auntie. She’s the most amazing... And beautiful...” His sentence was cut short with Celestia’s chuckles. He looked up at her, confused. “Why are you laughing?”

The princess shook her head and stopped her chuckles. She had seen this many, many times before. She'd even experienced it herself once or twice. The princess knew love when she saw it, and Blueblood had it bad. “I apologize for laughing, nephew. When do I get to meet this...” She trailed off, reaching out for a name.

“Trixie.” He let the name play on his tongue as he pronounced it as the mare herself did, rolling the R to add emphasis on the name.

“Ah, yes. When do I get to meet this Trixie?” It was Celestia’s job to look over the prince, and she had to make sure she could trust this mare. She couldn’t just allow somepony to hurt her nephew. The princess was concerned that the mare could only be in it for the money and the title. The prince was rather wealthy and the title of ‘prince’s girlfriend’ did probably sound rather inviting.

“Oh!” Blueblood slipped out of his lovestruck state and thought for a moment, bringing his hoof up to his chin. “Err... I guess you could meet her tomorrow. We could have dinner here again.” He looked a bit nervous at this idea. A dinner with the princess would be rather, well, awkward; but he didn’t really have a choice. Celestia gets the final word.

“Sounds delightful. I’ll be in the dining hall after the sun is set.” The princess nodded her head to the prince in a formal manner.

Blueblood suddenly rushed up and nuzzled Celestia. “Love you, auntie.” He hadn’t nuzzled the princess since he was just a foal; but it was true, he really did care about her, he just didn’t always know how to say it.

Celestia paused for a moment, shocked, before gently nuzzling him back. “Love you too, nephew.” She smiled almost motherly at him before continuing her way to her room.

Blueblood watched her go with a smile on his face before going back to his own section of the castle and settling into bed. He lay there for a moment, thinking of the day to come. He couldn’t help but feel that the experience would be utterly different. Whether that would be marvelously good or catastrophically bad was only up to Fate.

Chapter 7

Trixie stumbled off the stage after the crowd had left from her late night show. Her collection bag was very very light for such a display. Today she had tried her hardest to put on her very best act. She even used the chainsaw this time, but to no avail. Only about twelve ponies showed up today, and even they seemed bored or unimpressed. A mere 3 bits sat in her bag.

The blue mare sighed and sat in the shade backstage, shielded from anypony’s wandering eyes. There she thought for a bit in the late night breeze. Lately she had been thinking some terrible thoughts, and they just wouldn’t leave her alone.

Now, normally the mare would move to a different city after one or two shows. That way, she could meet new ponies and earn more money; but ever since the prince, she had been staying in Canterlot so they could go on their frequent dates. She had thoroughly enjoyed his company and quite liked the white stallion. Though he had his moments of snobbiness and being plain old whiny, Blueblood was a keeper.

The prince showed his true colors when the two ponies talked. The mare could see just how much Blueblood cared for her. He would always stand very close to her on their walks and his smile would never vanish. He would even try to prolong their nuzzling. He just loved being around her; but really, who doesn’t like being around The Great and Powerful Trixie?

Whenever she told of her far off journies, his eyes would grow wide, as if trying to imagine the place she spoke of. He would ask question after question, eager to learn more of the strange lands. She had guessed that he never really had the chance to travel.

The lack of money had taken its toll on Trixie. She was sickly and weak. The mare was sure that she had some sort of flu from the rain on the trip over to Canterlot, and it didn’t help that the only full meals she had in the past three days were from the prince. Eventually, she’d either have to move to a different city or consult with Blueblood. Leaving didn’t sound inviting to her.

After gathering her supplies, the mare walked home through the hot winds. They danced on her face, helping with the removal of the thoughts. She didn’t want to leave; no, she wouldn’t leave. She couldn’t just leave the prince... she wasn’t that heartless.

The mare thought on the subject for a moment longer before deciding that she’d just have to try harder. More BANG to attract a bigger audience. That’s it! Maybe Trixie was just getting old and boring. Well, not on her watch. More fireworks and more jaw-dropping magic MUST be the key, yes!

She trotted home, head held high, quite proud of her new ideas. The door swung open and Trixie crossed the threshold, tossing her box aside. She made her way to the kitchen and took a bite of the hay on the counter before sitting at her mirror and proceeding to brush her mane.

The pictures all around the mirror looked down upon her. Photos of her former self hung on the wall smirked at her. They almost looked as if they could be laughing at her. She could hear them now. ‘Look at yourself. What a disgrace.’ ‘All this for a prince? My my, you must be desperate.’ ‘ What a fool. You’ll die of starvation before anypony actually cares about you.’ Their voices rung in her ears from all directions. They seeped into her brain and tore at her heart, trying to get her to crack.

She drew back, feeling tears well up in the corners of her eyes. The brush fell from her magic’s grip and tumbled to the floor with a clatter. Hot tears streamed down her face as she tried to block out the voices. She could hear them. Laughing at her and mocking her, tearing her down.

Her eyes wandered to the photos of her foster mother. She could see her reassuring smile and warm eyes, looking into her heart and filling it with love. The mare allowed herself to mirror the smile and nuzzle the picture.

It’d been about five years since the passing of her foster mother. Trixie hadn’t brought herself to go back to the city where she died. Maybe that was part of the reason she traveled. She just couldn’t bring herself to stay in one place, to get too close to anypony. It would hurt her too much for something to happen. If somehow something happened to Blueblood, she knew it would be all her fault. Just like with her mother.

Getting close to Blueblood was very risky for Trixie. There were many others before him, most total scumbags who didn’t deserve to walk the earth. Eventually, she just stopped caring and ignored them. The prince was different, however. He was... true. He seemed like something good, something to hold onto. So, Trixie allowed herself to try once more.

The mare placed the picture back down on the desk and sighed. She could recall the day her foster mother passed away.

It was a bright sunny day in Fillydelphia. Trixie had decided to go to the street corner and entertain a few of the ponies there with her little magic tricks and show off the new hat and cape that her mom sewed for her earlier. She had even come up with a stage name, The Great and Powerful Trixie. There she stood, playing around with the little ones and performing magic tricks for about three hours. It was always so much fun. The fillies would look up to her and say, “I wanna be like you when I grow up!”. Trixie loved them dearly, they were like her own brothers and sisters.

Once the sun sunk into the horizon, Trixie started her way home. Her brand new cape flowed in the wind as if mirroring how she felt in the inside. She was proud of herself for making those young ones so happy. She must truly be a great pony if all of them wanted to be just like her.

Trixie crossed the corner that led to her house, nose held high in pride. Then she noticed something. There was a slight orange glow in the distance, right about where her house stood.

Her pace quickened, slightly concerned and wondering as to what could be going on. Then the smell hit her. The stench of burnt hay and wood stung in her nose as her trot turned into a canter.

Now she could see it. Her entire house was enveloped in a huge roaring flame. Firefighters were working on the house, spraying it with water. There were about twelve ponies in total, each providing a constant stream onto the fire.

Trixie ran up, her eyes wide with fear and disbelief. Her gaze flew over the small crowd that had gathered to see the commotion. She observed all the faces, scanning for her mother’s.

After a few seconds of searching she came to the conclusion that her mom was not in the crowd, so she must have been inside.

The mare tried to make her way to the door, as if her mom would come out and hug her to make all the fire go away. She was nearly to the flaming door when a firefighter stopped her.

“Hey, stay back kid.” He scowled down at her and pushed her away. His coat was yellow but smeared with the dirty ash from her burning house. The tips of his mane were singed and brittle from the flames.

“No! My mom’s in there!” Trixie desperately tried to push past him and get to the house, but he was too strong.

“I said stay here.” He forced her into a sitting position and went back to fighting the fire. The twelve ponies did their best to make the fire stop, but it just kept burning until it finally fell to the floor.

Tears flowed down the blue mare’s eyes as she watched her home burn to the ground. Every moment she waited to see her mother walk out of the flames and hug her. She couldn’t be gone, it was impossible. She didn’t allow herself to even think of her as dead. She MUST be safe in the hospital or something. Maybe she went out for groceries at the last minute. One thing was sure though. She was NOT dead.

Trixie then spent a long time in the police office, sitting in a chair in a corner. Her tears hadn’t stopped their flow since she left the pile of ashes that was once her home. She still couldn’t accept it. She was NOT dead.

A pony walked up to her and removed his cap. “I’m sorry, ma’am. She’s gone. We couldn’t get her out in time.” The man had a straight look on his face. It was obvious that he didn’t care. How could he not care? Trixie had just lost everything she cared about. Her mother was gone, her house was gone, everything.

“NO!” Trixie stomped down a hoof, desperate to see her mother. “Take me to her!” She couldn’t be dead. She couldn’t die. Not without saying goodbye.

“Listen, ma’am. She’s gone. There is nothing I can do.” He turned his back on the mare and walked back to his desk. “Now, if you are having trouble relocating, we’d be happy to set you up with limited financial support.” He shuffled a few papers and placed his glasses back on his nose.

Trixie’s mom just died and all he could talk about was money? How could he be so insensitive? How could he not see how much pain the mare was going through? Trixie stuttered for a bit before more tears sprung from her eyes. She couldn’t relocate, at least, not now. That was the last thing on her mind! What about her mom?! Why didn’t anypony care?

Trixie babbled incoherently for a few minutes, not sure of what to say. Then she ran. She ran and ran away from Fillydelphia. Far far away, where nopony would recognize the once caring and loving Trixie. From then on she started her show business career in order to support herself. Eventually, she was able to move on, but it still hurt her to think about it.

The mare curled up into a ball on her couch, trying to think happy thoughts. At least she would get to see Blueblood tomorrow. That was always fun, and she felt so happy and safe with him. They would hopefully get some food and maybe go for another walk. Trixie liked the simple dates. Most of all, she liked Blueblood. He was so much more than all of the other stallions she had in her life. He was special.

Trixie started to drift off, prepared for the upcoming day. Whatever the prince had planned, she hoped it involved food. She knew whatever it was, they would have fun. And she slipped off, content with her thoughts of food and love, ready for anything the next day might throw at her.

Chapter 8

Sparks and bangs erupted from where Trixie stood onstage with her fireworks pointed into the sky and her horn glowing brightly with magic. A crowd of about twenty ponies looked up at the sparkles in the sky with bored looks on their faces. It was easy to tell they were not impressed.

A wave of yawning began as Trixie set up to do her next trick. The blue mare hopped onto a box and reared up onto her back legs, causing even more fireworks to go off. She strained to keep her smile on her face as she flipped off of the box and took a bow.

The only noise that could be heard other than the faint coughing of a stallion in the back was the murmurs of ponies conversing quietly with one another. Trixie could pick up bits and pieces of the conversations.

“I hear she’s dating the prince,” said an orange pony near the front who was whispering to somepony who appeared to be her sister.

“Yeah,” replied the sister. “I read about it in a magazine the other day. She’s not even that pretty. The Prince must be keeping her around for a reason.”

“Ugh. Let’s just go,” said a blue colt from the back. “We’re unicorns anyways. We can do this on our own.” The stallion stood and made his way to the exit. As he trotted away most of the other ponies took the chance to take their leave also.

Trixie watched in silent horror before gathering the strength to say something. “W-Wait! Trixie isn’t done yet!” The crowd continued to file out of the stone square and back to their daily lives. “I have more! I promise!” The blue mare hopped off the stage and rose a hoof, as if reaching out to touch the leaving crowd. “... Please.”

By now the square was completely empty except for the blue mare hunched over in the center, shaking with both sadness and weakness. She shouldn’t have put on a performance today anyways. She was far too weak from both the lack of food and the cold that she was trying to hold back. She’d been able to disguise the cold near perfectly onstage, except for the occasional sneeze or sniffle. It went the same with her dates with prince Blueblood.

Blueblood.

She recalled the conversation she overheard on stage. ‘Keeping her around for a reason.’ Could this be true? Was the prince really only just ‘keeping her around’? No, it couldn’t be. She knew the prince was more than that. She knew she could trust him.

The blue mare was caught off guard by the sound of hoofsteps on the stone ground. She looked up to see one of the royal Canterlot guards trotting over, his armor gleaming and his nose held high. He stood in front of the sitting mare and looked down.

“Ma’am. I’m afraid I’ll have to give you a warning about your use of fireworks.” The stallion looked down at her with cold blue eyes.

Trixie let out a slight whimper. “.. W-Why?” She could feel her emotions going for another rollercoaster ride as she sprung to her feet. Who was he to tell her she couldn’t use her fireworks? SHE payed for them. SHE rented the spot. “WHY?!” she yelled this time demanding an answer.

The stallion was a bit taken aback at the sudden confrontation. “It violates our policy. Now you have two choices. You can either peacefully decide not to use fireworks in your show anymore or you can pack up and escort yourself out of the gardens.”

“Ohhh.” Trixie’s eyes narrowed at the stallion. “It violates your policy. How very rude of me.” She took a threatening step closer. “Trixie is allowed to use WHATEVER SHE WANTS for her shows, and YOU are nopony to stop me.” Now she was only an inch away from the stallion, her eyes narrowed so tightly, she could barely even see him.

The stallion kept his cool. “Ma’am. I’m going to ask you to step down.” He stood his ground.

Trixie’s face showed a hint of red as her anger boiled. She bit her bottom lip and stepped back. “I don’t give a flying feather about your policy.”

The blue mare was quite surprised when the guard took a low bow. Then she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the sound of somepony clearing their throat behind her. She quickly turned to face the mystery pony. Only, it wasn’t so much of a mystery. Behind her stood prince Blueblood. He looked at the guard, taking a step forward.

“Is there a problem here?” asked the prince. His voice was harsh and stern.

“No, sir. I was just telling this mare that she was violating our policy.” The stallion rose and stood at attention.

“Our policy.” He repeated the words, halting in front of the guard. He sighed. “Let this mare be. She never hurt anypony. and I’m sure she has no intention to.” Blueblood looked back at Trixie, who was now sitting behind him and looking at the ground.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t. It violates our policy,” the guard repeated again, a tinge of annoyance creeping into his voice.

“You have no choice. Said mare is a good friend of mine and has been granted royal permission.” Blueblood stood slightly taller than the guard, looking him straight in the eye.

The guard took a bow. “Yessir.” He trotted away and went to the other side of the castle.

Blueblood turned to Trixie and nuzzled her, which caused her to raise her head to look up at the prince. “What happened? Is everything okay?” He sat down so he was eye level with the mare.

Trixie sighed, her weakness catching up with her. “Trixie was just finishing up with her spectacular show when the guard came over and demanded her to stop.” She rested her tired head on the prince’s chest and sighed.

The prince blushed at their touch and smiled. “Well... I don’t think he’ll be giving you any more problems.” He nuzzled the blue mare and stood. “Come on. I need to talk with you about something.”

Trixie struggled a bit to stand up. She even swayed a little when back on all four hooves. She tried to play it off casually, but she saw the prince cock an eyebrow.

“Before we get to anything...” The prince looked at Trixie, great concern in his eyes. “Are you.... okay? Just lately you’ve seemed... weak. Can I do something for you? Can I help?”

Trixie thought for a moment. She thought about telling him of just how sick and weak she was. Then she’d get all better, then she’d be able to be with the prince without having to worry about herself; but one word stood out in the prince’s question. ‘Weak’. Trixie knew she was not weak, for she was the strongest of mares. She could support herself. She didn’t need help. “No... I’m fine. Really. Just a bit, you know, tired.”

Trixie regretted the words the moment they came out of her mouth. She felt disgusting. The thoughts were pushed to the back of her head as she looked up at the prince’s concerned face. Then the guilt hit her again, only ten times worse. She couldn’t stand the feeling. It was then that her heart and head came to a unanimous decision. The mare would tell the prince every aspect of her daily struggles over dinner. It was there when she would apologize for lying and let him know the true reason as to why she looked so sickly.

The prince gave her a reassuring nuzzle. “Come on. Let’s go for a bit of a walk. Like I said, I need to talk to you.” He nodded and led the way, but not before signaling a guard to watch over them while they stopped for a bite to eat.

The couple made their way to the closest eatery and took a seat near the back. Trixie took the chance to order quite a large lunch to keep her energy level high. She noticed that Blueblood looked nervous about something. He kept biting his lip and opening his mouth, as if about to say something, before closing it again and taking a sip of his water.

“You said you had something to tell Trixie?” the mare asked before taking a sip of her own beverage.

“Y-yeah... You know the dinner date for tonight?” The prince asked apprehensively.

Trixie nodded with her straw in her mouth.

“Well.... Turns out we’ll be dining with the princess.” He gave his best ‘I’m sorry’ smile.

Trixie’s eyes grew wide as she nearly choked on her water. She pulled back and took a deep breath of air. “With Princess Celestia?” Right about now that food wasn’t feeling so good in the pit of her stomach.

“Yeah. She wants to get to know you.” The prince gestured a waitress over to clean up Trixie’s spilt water.

Trixie closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. “Well... it’s certainly an honor.” She felt as if she was going to be sick. Her recent meal was churning in her stomach.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll go fine. Auntie is pretty relatable. She won’t really put you on the spot or anything.”

Trixie sighed and took another sip of water. “I have nothing to wear.” She spoke the words as they hit her. It was just an idea that popped into her head.

“We have a dress at the castle you could wear.”

Trixie nodded, keeping her head low. Suddenly the blue mare was very dizzy. “E-Excuse me... I need to use the little filly's room.” She stood and made her way to her destination.

Blueblood received a lot of odd looks from the surrounding ponies. Several mares were batting their eyelashes at him as some of the stallions rolled their eyes. He thought on what was to come that very night. Celestia was truly a nice pony, she just didn’t understand how truly awkward she had made the situation. Blueblood somehow knew that it would go well, yet in the very back of his mind, there was that constant reminder of failure. The reminder that something could go catastrophically wrong and the night could end horridly. He did his best to not dwell on those thoughts, though they were persistent. All he could do now was wait for the dinner and see how it goes.

Chapter 9

Trixie looked into the mirror that was set up for her to look into while she tried on dresses in the castle. She did her best to not look so nervous in front of the green helper pony that was appointed to assist her. The pony was mostly silent, other than her comments on how pretty Trixie looked or how a few particular dresses highlighted her eyes. She’d come out with dress after dress for the blue unicorn to try on for her date with the prince.

Trixie looked into the mirror. Now her sickness was really starting to catch up with her. She looked weak and tired, thin and somehow older. She sighed, taking a spin in her dress to see how it looked on her. She would obviously need something that would cover up her sickly form, for she had already decided that tonight would be the night that she would let Blueblood know of her hardships. Maybe she would even let him know of her tragic past.

She sighed at the dress. It hugged her legs in the back too much for her to really like. “I like the color. Just not full enough.” She announced to the green pony. Trixie slipped out of the dress and tossed it aside. It was but a few moments before the green pony came back with another dress folded neatly on her back. The pony’s eyes were aimed directly at the ground to avoid any unwanted confrontation.

Trixie’s own eyes softened at the sight. “Chin up, now. Something bothering you? Can Trixie help at all?” The blue mare stepped off the stage where she stood and sat next to the quiet servant.

The green pony shook her head and handed Trixie the dress. “N-No ma’am. I-I’m just so honored to be serving the prince’s own marefriend. I don’t w-want to mess anything up.”

Trixie blushed deeply. Their relationship had never been ‘officially’ announced, but she guessed marefriend was the correct term. “You’re doing a great job,” Trixie smiled reassuringly, slipping into the new dress and examining herself once more.

It was a masterpiece to say the least. The front was decorated with sparkles and little balls that twinkled when the light caught it just right. Down the back was a single streak of purple that grew into the ruffles that were the skirt of her dress. It was perfect.

Trixie smiled at her reflection before looking down at the helper pony and nodding. “This one. It’s lovely.”

The mare allowed a slight smile to brush on her face before she took the dress from Trixie and put it in a bag for later. “H-Head down to the room down the hall w-when y-you want to get your makeup done,” the green pony announced shyly.

Trixie nodded absentmindedly, her thoughts traveling to what was to come later tonight. She took the dress and wandered the corridors of the castle.

Blueblood sat in his chair, beads of sweat leaking down his forehead. His aunt Celestia sat next to him, her mane twisting and turning as it always did, even with the absence of any wind.

Celestia just sat there at the head of the table, a light smile on her face. She was happy to finally be meeting the mare that Blueblood was going on about.

Trixie walked into the room and made her way to the seat opposite Blueblood.

The prince’s eyes followed her the whole way, a look of awe spreading on his face. He was completely and totally entranced with her amazing beauty. Her dress reflected the light that the chandelier gave off, so little spots of light twinkled about the room.

Celestia looked at the mare for a moment with a hint of confusion. She recalled a similar description of this pony from one of her letters from her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. She remembered the silvery-blue mane and sky blue coat being described in one of her student's numerous follow up letters. Trixie was the name as she remembered.

Blueblood used his magic to scoot the chair opposite of himself out so that Trixie could sit.

The blue mare sat and promptly took a sip of the glass of water that was set out in front of her. She prayed that the Princess had failed to notice just how red her face was.

A few moments of silence passed before Blueblood cleared his throat. He cast Trixie a nervous smile before turning to his aunt. “Auntie? This is Trixie.” He gestured with his hoof to the mare opposite him.

Celestia smiled at the mare. She noted how nervous the two of them looked. Blueblood with beads of sweat twisting down his face, and Trixie with her red face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Trixie. My nephew speaks awfully fondly of you.” She nodded politely.

Blueblood felt his own face develop a red tinge as she mentioned how often he spoke of her.

Trixie, on the other hoof, couldn’t suppress her giggles. “ Really?” The mare allowed herself to relax. “How adorable.” Trixie smiled as she imagined the prince going on and on about her, babbling until Celestia has to shush him. “It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you, Princess,” she continued. “ Trixie..erm... I have always wondered if you were closely connected to Blueblood.” The mare felt the words heavy in her mouth. Speaking was starting to prove a difficult task.

Celestia nodded, her gaze turning to the prince. “Yes. I watched closely over him while he grew up.”

The prince finally spoke up. ”She was a mother to me.” He looked at the tablecloth nervously, wishing to change topics.

Luckily, two waiter ponies came out of the main doors and approached the three of them. They quickly took their orders than left.

Celestia took a sip of her own water. “So,” she started, leaning back to get a good view of both ponies. “How exactly did you two meet?”

Blueblood’s face automatically flushed as he recalled their first encounter. If he remembered correctly, Trixie first wanted to saw him in half.

The blue mare cleared her throat nervously. “W-Well. He came to one of my spectacular shows. I needed a volunteer for a saw-cutting act, and he seemed best suited for the job.”

Celestia seemed unphased. “Saw-cutting act? So you’re a performer?”

“Oh, yes,” replied Trixie, her eyes lighting up. “I travel across the world, putting on fantastic shows for anypony and everypony.”

Celestia was now interested. “So you’ve been around Equestria? Where exactly have you gone?”

Blueblood, now eager to be a part of the conversation, jumped right in. “Oh! She’s been all over.” He straightened up so fast he caused the table to shake. “To Baltimare and Hoofington. To Las Pegasus and the Griffin lands. She’s even ventured into the Badlands.” He could have gone on if he wasn’t caught off guard by the huge grin on Trixie’s face. He stared at her blankly for a moment, confused as to what was going on.

It melted Trixie’s heart to hear him talk like that. He was really listening when she was going on and on about the places she’s been and seen. She couldn't help but display that huge grin.

Celestia observed the interaction and smiled inwardly. She knew what was to come for the both of them. The princess knew exactly what was going on. It touched her so much that she couldn’t help but display a small smile on her face also.

For some time, Trixie allowed the prince to tell her own stories for her. He went on and on about how she fought the giant pony-eating snakes, and how she made friends with the wild griffons. By the time the food arrived, Blueblood was heatedly describing a particular moment when Trixie found herself stuck on the edge of a mountain with a wild ox chasing after her.

“And then she used her magic to grab a rock that was behind her. She threw it as hard as she could at the ox and it hit him right between the-oh.” The waiter placed his order of caramelized pears and braised apples in front of him.

Celestia was slightly leaning back in her chair when her own order of steamed carrots was placed in front of her. She had been allowing the prince to talk continuously. It was almost as if he was confessing his love for the pony sitting across from him.

Trixie looked down at her own order of toasted apples with raspberry glaze with a sick look on her face. The last thing that sounded good to her was food. Suddenly she was struck with the memory of the other night. When she told herself that she would tell Blueblood what she had failed to tell him from the beginning. She hesitantly raised her head, her smile disappearing and instead being replaced with a very serious look. “B-Blueblood?”

The prince, who currently had a mouthful of pears, spluttered and quickly scrambled to get a drink of water. He took a moment to catch his breath before looking at Trixie. “Y-Yes?”

The blue mare was getting dizzy from the smell of food. She looked down at her own to see that the plates had in fact tripled. There were now three plates of apples dancing around one another in circles. Trixie looked down at them in confusion. She tried to turn her head to speak to Blueblood once more, but any movement caused her vision to go blurry. She reached a hoof out to grasp her water glass, which proved to be quite a difficult task with almost no vision. She felt something cold and hard touch her hoof before it fell over and made a clank. She felt around for whatever she had dropped and found her hoof to be wet.

She tried to open her mouth to speak, but she felt as if she was going to be sick. She could hear muffled voices circling around her head, but she couldn’t make out what any of them were saying.

Finally the mare was able to push herself up so she was on all four hooves. “I-I.. Trixie... I... need... air.” She half-ran half-walked half-stumbled blindly to the exit before propping herself against the hallway wall.

Blueblood looked to Celestia, his eyes wide with fear. “Auntie? Do you know what’s wrong with her?”

Celestia bit her bottom lip. “I honestly don’t know...let's give her a moment to breathe though; perhaps that’s all she needs.”

Blueblood stuttered for a bit before sitting back down and glaring at the door, waiting for Trixie to walk back in.

A slight thud could be heard from down the hall. The green helper pony was in the dressing room, putting dresses back away and cleaning up. The thud took her by surprise, so she jumped at first. “H-hello?” said the timid earth pony. “Is anypony there?” She took a few cautious steps out of the room, scanning the perimeter. If she recalled correctly, the noise came from the right hallway, the room that led to the dining hall.

She carefully stepped, looking out for any zombie ponies that might have been lurking the halls at this hour in the castle.

She was a bit taken aback when she turned the corner and saw a pile of clothes on the ground. “Is th-that it?” She sighed and trotted over to pick up what looked like a dress. “I w-wonder who-AH!” She screamed when she saw that the dress was not only a dress, but it had a pony inside it also. And that pony was none other than the very mare she was tending to earlier in the day.

The mare wasn’t moving. She was just asleep on the ground. The green pony looked closer and saw a small stream of red flowing down the blue mare’s forehead.

The pony took a step away in fear. “Help! HELP!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Blueblood shot up once more when he heard a muffled scream.

Celestia stood also, her horn glowing, ready for any sort of up and coming combat.

“Help! HELP!” Blueblood could hear the muffled cries from behind the double doors that led to the dining hall. The prince did not think twice before charging and ramming into the doors, sending them flying open. He scanned the area, looking for the source of the cries. Blueblood looked to his immediate right and saw the earth pony trembling somewhat near to a fallen pony. Not just any fallen pony. It was Trixie!

Blueblood felt his heart drop as he looked at the scene. He saw Trixie laying there, a stream of blood coming from the center of her forehead. He was instantly by her side, nuzzling her to get up, constantly rubbing his face against hers as if to rub life into her. “W-Wake up T-Trix... g-get up...it’s not funny.” His voice caught in his throat. He felt hot tears dripping down his face.

He looked up, desperate for help. He saw Celestia running out of the dining hall. “H-Help,” was all he could manage to get out.

Celestia took one look at the scene before picking up Trixie’s limp body with her magic and placing her on her own back. “The hospital wing is just around the corner,” Celestia announced as she cantered in that direction. Blueblood followed closely behind, everything was in slow motion for him. He couldn’t hear anything. He couldn’t see anything but his running aunt and the pony on her back. All he knew was that he had to make sure Trixie was okay. She HAD to be okay.

Once they arrived to the hospital wing, several white ponies rushed out and put Trixie on a bed with wheels before wheeling her behind some curtains. When he tried to follow, a pony held out a hoof and told him to stop. He tried to push past him, but another two ponies came up and restrained him. By now he was desperate to see her, he was kicking and pushing, trying to see what was behind that curtain.

Celestia put a hoof on his shoulder and pulled him back. “Hush. It’ll be alright. Just wait for a bit. They just need to make sure everything is okay.” Celestia whispered to him in the same way she did when she was called into his room at the latest hours of the night to let him know that there were no monsters hiding under his bed. She held him in a hug. “It’ll be okay.”

It was an hour or so before they were allowed in. Blueblood was instantaneously by Trixie’s side, hugging her close.

Trixie was still out cold. It turned out she fainted due to lack of food and exhaustion. The cut was from when she fell and bumped her head on the ground. The doctors spent some time telling Blueblood that everything was going to be okay and that he had nothing to worry about.

For some reason Blueblood couldn’t help but worry. He couldn’t stop worrying until he could talk to Trixie. And even then, he doubted he could ever not worry again.

He stayed in the wing into the late hours of the night, either sitting or laying down on the bench. When finally a nurse pony came in and told him it was time to leave, he went back to Trixie and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He left silently to walk to corridors of Canterlot Castle. He couldn’t help but wonder what Trixie had to say before she ran out. He knew it was going to be one of the first things he asked her once everything was cleared up.

Chapter 10

It wasn’t until later that day that a beam of light from the open window finally fell on Trixie’s eyes, causing the blue mare to stir. She sat up, groggily rubbing at her purple eyes as the whole world came into focus. The first thing she saw when she came to was a heart monitor. A.... A heart monitor!

She stiffened as her eyes snapped wide open. A tube ran from the monitor and around her hoof. The faint “beep-------beep-------beep” showed that Trixie was indeed alive.

The room was small and white with a few portraits of ponies Trixie had no relation to hung on the walls. The couch that belonged to this room was pulled up close to her bed, as if someone had been laying there before she came to.

Trixie let her head fall back to the pillow and sighed, memories of last night flooding into her mind. She remembered Celestia and Blueblood. She remembered how wonderful the night had seemed to be going. She remembered the fun, the laughter, the food. Then she remembered when she passed out.

The mare rubbed her eyes with her hooves, sighing. She really messed everything up. Everything she could have ever wanted was right there. Right in front of her, and then she had to let her pride get in the way.

It was a few more moments of silence before a hospital pony walked in and noticed the now conscious Trixie. She trotted over.

“How are we feeling today, Miss Trixie?” asked the pony with an obvious fake grin plastering her face.

Trixie blinked up at her, thinking for a moment. “Trixie feels fine. Can she go now?”

“As soon as we tell you a few things. You really were starving yourself there, hun. It’s not healthy doncha’ know?” She reached over and grabbed a clipboard that sat on the table to the right of Trixie. “But since it wasn’t intentional, you won’t have to see a therapist. Instead some nice young colt promised to be providing you with all the food you need to survive. A prince I think, actually.”

Trixie looked down, the guilt hitting her like a slap to the face.

The hospital pony spent the next five minutes reading a long list of foods she should and shouldn’t eat until she reached a proper weight again. She went on and on, but Trixie wasn’t really listening. No, she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was find Blueblood and tell him just how sorry she was.

After ten more minutes, Trixie was outside Canterlot Castle with a list of foods held in her mouth. She looked around for a bit, hoping to catch some glimpse of the stallion she hoped to talk to, but she saw neither hide nor hair of him.

She sighed before turning slowly to go back inside when something caught her eye. It was the helper pony with the green coat and red mane that got her the dress for last night. Maybe she would know where Blueblood was. Trixie trotted over. “Excuse me!”

The pony squeaked and looked up at Trixie. “Y-yes?”

“Do you know where Blueblood is?” Her tone of voice was that of urgency.

“I-I think he’s in his room, ma’am.” She avoided eye contact and stared at the floor.

Trixie hugged the pony. “Thank you thank you thank you!” She then took off.

She trotted back inside, quickly looking around. She went down every hallway until she got to the very top of the castle. She got to a door with a gold plaque on it that read “Blueblood”.

After a mane and breath check, she knocked three times. A yellow glow surrounded the door and it was flung open. Blueblood lay on his bed, facing away from the door. Three or four wine glasses were beside his bed, one of them tipped over and broken. The room was messy and the windows were closed, causing the room to get an eerie grey color. Blueblood himself was tossed carelessly on his king sized mattress, half covered with his blanket. His hair was untidy and the tux he had worn for last night was wrinkled and thrown in the corner.

Trixie nervously stepped in. “A-ahem....... B-Blueblood?”

Blueblood’s ears perked up and her quickly jumped out off bed and flung himself onto the blue mare, hugging her close and tight. “Oh Trixie! I-” He stopped in the middle of his sentence and quickly let go, taking a step away from the mare and tossing his head up in disgust as if remembering he was mad at her. “Why hello, Trixie.” He did his best to sound mad.

The blue mare sighed, sitting down. “Blueblood...... I’m so sorry.” She caught the prince’s attention, for he opened one eye and looked down at the mare. “This was all my fault.” She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. “None of this would have ever happened if I just told you....” She closed her eyes against her steamy tears. “Blueblood.... I live in a mobile home on the outskirts of town. It’s broken down and I’ve had to repair it so many times I’ve lost count. I’d buy another one, but the problem is I can’t. I can’t because I don’t have any money. I’m as poor as a rock, Blueblood. And as dumb as one too. I can’t afford to feed myself and I certainly can’t afford to start a new diet now that I’m sick. Blueblood, this is all so hard for me.... I... I’m sorry.” She lay her head at his hooves and covered her face up, tears running down her face.

Blueblood looked startled. He thought for a moment before putting a hoof on her head and gently rubbing in a circular motion. “You could have just told me. I have money.”

Trixie sat up and rested her head on his shoulder. “Yeah.... but Trixie.... I didn’t want to get my pride hurt; and that was a stupid idea on my part.” She sighed.

Blueblood laughed. “Well I guess everything’s better now. Well...” He pulled back so he could look Trixie in the eye. “Trixie, Celestia and I talked last night. She said that we would fund you until you could get back on all four hooves. You see, this castle is rather large; and not all the rooms here are taken up. Plus, we have a ton of food. And, well....she said that if you wanted you could.... come.... live in the castle. “ He smiled sheepishly at her, waiting for an answer.

That’d mean she would stay here. No more moving around, no more traveling show biz. She thought for a moment longer before smiling up at the white stallion. “Of course.”

He tried to contain his childish joy the best he could, but that proved too great a task for the prince. He stood and laughed, hugging Trixie tighter than before.

Trixie was also happy. The two of them walked to Celestia’s room to tell her to good news. They knocked before noticing the note on the yellow door. It read, “Trixie and Blueblood. Go to the dining hall.”

The two looked nervously at one another before heading in the direction, each thinking of the terrible or wonderful fate that lay in store for them.

They pushed open the double doors and before they knew it they were engulfed in a cloud of pink. It seemed as if they were being attacked. Attacked by an army of angry pink killing machines. They could feel themselves being squeezed tight. Tighter and tighter almost to the point where they couldn't breathe. Then it hit them. They weren't being attacked. No, they were being hugged.

A loud high pitch voice cried out in glee. “I’m soooooooo happy for you two!” cried out the pink ball.

When the two were finally able to pull away, they could see that the pink cloud was actually a pony. Blueblood put his hoof to his chin. He seemed to have remembered this pony from somewhere before. Trixie was in the same dilemma; she could recall seeing a similar face when she first visited Ponyville.

The two took another glance of the room and could see that the pink pony was not the only visitor. Oh no, there was a white one, an orange one, a yellow one, a blue one, and a purple one.

Trixie cringed at the sight of the purple one. She remembered that one by name. Twilight Sparkle.

Blueblood also coughed at the sight of the white one. He’d had a rather unfortunate run in with her at the last Gala. Rarity was her name, as he remembered it.

All six of the ponies came up and introduced themselves to the couple. Blueblood and Trixie politely shook their hooves, not wanting to be rude.

The pink one, who introduced herself as Pinkie Pie, wouldn’t leave them alone. She kept asking them what their favorite color was and whether or not they liked the game Pin the Tail on the Pony. Eventually the two split apart and made small talk with the six.

Rarity tried her hoof at speaking to the prince. “So..... how are things going? I-I see you and Trixie are..” She cleared her throat.

Blueblood nodded. “Yes. And... well I’d like to apologize for being such a stuck up jerk to you. I shouldn’t have acted that way. It was wrong of me.”

Rarity was taken aback. “I... Ooh... well... You’re forgiven.”

Trixie eventually dragged into a long conversation with Twilight about ancient magic. She understood most of what the purple pony said, having studied ancient magic excessively in her youth. They talked and talked, but one question burned deep in the back of her mind. Why?

“Twilight.... Not to be rude.... but why are you here,” the blue mare asked quizzically.

Twilight smiled. “I was waiting for you to ask that question.” She gestured to the small
purple dragon in the corner who had escaped Trixie’s notice until now. “ Princess Celestia said that you might have a good lesson for me to take down.”

Trixie blinked, surprised by the pony’s kind words. “Well.... I-I’d love to.”

Twilight pulled out a quill from seemingly nowhere and handed it to Trixie. “Why don’t you take this one down.”

Trixie smiled before getting to work on the letter.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I learned that the ponies that care for you will always love you, regardless of whether you have a lot of money, or can buy your own food or not. It’s good to always let them know when something is wrong especially if it’s important. Your pride should never get in the way of your relationships with other ponies. Who knows, maybe the pony really cares about you and wants you to be safe and sound. Always trust your friends.

Signed,
The Great and Powerful Trixie”