Oh, sorry, Trix. I told Maud we’d go fly kites this afternoon. Raincheck?
I hated this restaurant. The tables were stupid. The chairs were stupid. All they had was stupid plebian food. Hayfries and lettuce wraps and silly sandwiches. Haute Cuisine? Puh Lease! The Great and Powerful Trixie could really teach these backcountry–
I shook my head. I was doing it again. Starlight had asked me to do my best, and I was. Really! I didn’t say these things out loud, any longer.
I glanced down at my pathetic and unappetizing looking sandwich. A pile of local grown, organic (according to the menu) veggies on toasted nine-grain. Nothing special. Nothing truly worthy of a palette like Trixie’s!
Maybe it would be better if I’d had company.
Raincheck?
It was dumb. A stupid little word, only it kept bouncing around my head. It wouldn’t stop. I prodded at my sandwich with a hoof, and finally grabbed it and took a bite.
It tasted awful. It tasted bland. Bland like her. I blinked at the sudden rush of anger.
“Stupid boring kites. Stupid boring blue sky. Stupid boring Maud,” I muttered to myself.
“I’m sorry?”
I glanced up. There was a pony standing right next to me. A pony in a white shirt and tie, holding a notepad. Maybe it was the waiter, maybe the owner of this place, the inaccurately named Haute Cuisine himself. I hadn’t bothered to ask. He was staring at me with a raised eyebrow like he expected something.
“Excuse me?”
“I simply asked if madam needed anything else.” He was a picture of poise and respect, and his accent reminded me of those snobbish Canterlot types. The same highborn unicorns that had no real appreciation for fine performances. “If I may be so bold, you seem distracted. Is everything all right?”
“Trixie is managing just fine, thank you.” I was perfectly polite, but I saw his eyes widen slightly. As if I had said something rude. I would never! “You may go on about your business. If you’re really that bored, you could bring Trixie another water? And don’t forget the lemon this time.”
The stallion turned a bit stiffly, without another word as he retreated back into the interior of the restaurant and left me at my utterly ridiculous mushroom-shaped table. I went back to picking at the utterly uninspired sandwich, wondering if they had ketchup at this two-bit operation. Anything to bring this appalling mess they called ‘food’ up to Trixie’s standards.
Sorry, Trix. Fly kites. Raincheck?
I’d mushed my sandwich with my hoof. It was smeared with veggies and sauce. With an exasperated sigh I slumped in my seat. Idly I began to eat what was left; it might have been terrible, but it was cheap food, and Trixie was running low on funds this week due to absolutely no fault of my own I can manage my own finances just fine thank you very much Starlight Glimmer!
What if… what if it wasn’t just kites in the park? What if it wasn’t just this afternoon? What if…
This wasn’t the first time Starlight had blown me off. Sure, I didn’t really like hanging out with the two of them when they flew kites; who would? There weren’t nearly enough explosions.
But then there had been the poetry night at the bar last week.
A rock-hunting expedition to Ghastly Gorge.
Lunch at the castle, while I was away on a tour out to Appleoosa.
A dozen moments. Starlight and Maud. Alone. I realized I was shaking.
Kites. Raincheck?
“Trixie met her first. Trixie was friends with her first. She should be…” I cut myself off before I could mutter too much. There were some things I didn’t even want to say out loud.
“Pardon, madam?” It was the waiter again. No matter what other ponies might have claimed, I absolutely did not give a little shriek and jerk a few feet into the air.
“Trixie was talking to herself, and not the waiter!” I was breathing hard because I was angry, and absolutely not because I was startled by the sneaky waiter and his sneaky quiet hooves sneaking up on me.
“Very good, madam,” the waiter seemed completely unbothered. Stupid Maud would probably like this place. This stallion was as boring as milk.
“In fact, unless I address you directly, you can probably just ignore everything Trixie says!” I said, in a completely reasonable and not rude at all voice.
“Very good, madam.” This time he had a long-suffering, put-upon look. As if I was causing him problems, rather than the other way around. The nerve. “Here is your water, with lemon.”
“Thank you,” I mumbled. Starlight’s disapproving eyes suddenly floated in my mind. “Um.”
“Was there something else?”
“Trixie is… sorry if she was rude.” The stallion looked surprised, but I ignored it. I wasn’t apologizing for him. I imagined Starlight was there, smiling proudly. Those violet eyes sparkling with pride, her voice alight with joy. For a moment, the day seemed brighter. Everything seemed brighter when she was around.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is becoming the Pathetic and Sappy Trixie,” I whimpered. I took a long sip of the water and did my best to eat the rest of my mess of a meal. I might have no appetite, but greatness required fuel. Even if that greatness was hidden behind the complete hot mess I was becoming.
Despite what some may claim, I do not wallow. I do not mope. Sometimes I sit and think, and consider deep thoughts and profound actions. And if somepony walks up to me while I’m doing this, sometimes it might look like I’ve been startled. I’m not.
“Trixie?” It was the evil friend-stealing succubus herself.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped at Maud. She was standing next to my table, looking absolutely boring and not at all as pretty or spectacular like me.
“Starlight ordered some food. I’m here to pick it up. What about you?”
I huffed. Was she that oblivious? “Clearly, the Great and Famished Trixie is just finishing up her own lunch.” I motioned at the decimated remains of the travesty before me.
“Did you enjoy it?” As usual, Maud’s voice was emotionless.
“Of course not! This establishment is far beneath Trixie’s exacting standards!” I made sure to glance about to see if the waiter was nearby. Starlight would be upset if I insulted him to his face, after all.
“Then why are you eating here if you didn’t enjoy it?” Maud sounded far too reasonable.
“Th-the Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t need to explain herself to you!” I stammered. “It has nothing to do with m-money.”
“Okay. If you say so.” That’s all? It felt like she was staring right through Trixie with those eyes. Like she knew exactly what I was thinking.
“S-so. How is your da–day! Your day with Starlight and the kites?” I tried not to sound like I was sneering. It’s possible I failed.
“It was fine. We flew kites. Not much else, but it was fun.“
“Oh,” I mumbled. “And now you’re enjoying a picnic lunch together in the p-park.” My lip wasn’t trembling. It WASN’T!
“We are?“ Why did she say it like that? Is she making fun of me? No one makes fun of the Great and Powerful Trixie!
“Of course,” I huffed angrily. “As soon as the waiter comes back with your to-go order, you’ll be on your way back to the lovely park with the perfect blue sky and the perfect m–” my mouth snapped closed with a click.
Her eyes seemed to focus on me harder, like they were looking for something.
“May I take a seat?“
“You may do whatever you like!” I said haughtily. “Trixie doesn’t control you.” If I did, she’d be a billion miles away. In Manehatten. Or Seaquestria. Or an active volcano.
“Okay.“ She sat quietly on the haypile next to me. “What do you think of me? Honestly.”
What kind of question was that? “Trixie doesn’t think about you very often, to be honest.” All the time. Every day. Every second. If it weren’t for Maud, I was sure I’d be with her right now. “The Busy and Important Trixie has far too much on her mind to be concerned about every single pony that crosses her path.”
If it were any other pony, I imagined she’d be leaning on a hoof with a smug grin on her dumb face. “You seemed distracted the past few times we met. Distant. Out of touch. Even right now.“
“T-Trixie has no idea what you are talking about!” I insisted. I picked up my glass and gulped down the rest of my water, coughing loudly when it went down wrong. I slammed the glass back down on the table and stood up. “Besides, the Great and Powerful Trixie has many other things planned for this afternoon. I-Important things. Magic tricks to prepare.” I began fumbling in my bags for the bits to pay for this mediocre meal, fishing out just enough coins to cover the bill. And a decent tip. I wasn’t retreating.
“I haven’t seen you do any complex magic since I met you. And you always seem to be hovering around Starlight. You don’t like me. “
“H-hover!?! Trixie does not hover!” I was indignant. “And what makes you think I don’t like you?” I turned my nose in the air. “You would have to be more important, more spectacular, to even be on Trixie’s radar!” Inside I was furious. What did Starlight see in this mare that I don’t have?
“If you were indifferent you wouldn’t have been glaring at me for the past two minutes. Why do you not like me? Does this have to do with Starl–“
“OF COURSE IT DOES!” I slammed my hooves against the ground in fury. “YOU’RE STEALING STARLIGHT AWAY FROM ME!” Immediately I slammed a hoof against my mouth. I went red, my eyes whipping about to see who had heard me. The waiter was inside, but several other ponies were staring our way. I wanted to crawl under the table. I wanted to punch that blank, bland look off Maud’s face. I wanted to run and hide in my wagon and stay there for a thousand years until everypony that ever heard me had turned to dust.
“Why do you like Starlight?“ Her eyes were widened slightly in shock; there was barely a difference, but it was noticeable. I couldn’t tell if she was actually surprised or just fearful of my COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED outburst. Despite that, her voice kept it’s steady tone.
“W-what kind of question is that?” I stammered, deflating a bit as I glanced around. I considered just running, but the cat was already out of the bag. “C’mon. If you insist on having this completely unnecessary and awkward conversation, we should go.” I began to trot away, not even looking to see if she was following. “Okay. So maybe the Great and Powerful Trixie might ‘like’ Starlight Glimmer. Why wouldn’t Trixie? She’s only the most perfect unicorn ever.” I glared at her. “And don’t you dare tell her I said so!”
“I didn’t ask if you did, I asked why.“ Her trailing voice both relieved and annoyed me, knowing she was following.
“I…” I was going to snap something back. Yell something at her. I don’t know. But I paused, and took a deep breath. “Starlight is fun. She and I can get into trouble together.” That wasn’t it. Or at least, not all. “Starlight… forgives Trixie. Every time I do something stupid. And she still likes me afterwards. No matter how many times, she’s still patient with me.” I don’t know when it happened, but I was whispering by the end. There was an ache in my chest, and I didn’t know where it had come from. “Nopony else has ever treated Trixie like that before. She understands Trixie.”
“I understand that. Starlight… she manages to put up with my… differences. She can appreciate what I like, and doesn’t pressure me to be like her.” I looked back at her and I could barely catch a small smile crossing her face.
“I know that,” I hissed. My eyes stung. I blinked, and tears squeezed out the edges. “And that’s why y-you’re going to s-steal Starlight away from T-Trixie!” I let out a choked sob.
“Not exactly. Spending time with Starlight is fun, but it’s just that. Fun. She’s a friend, and that’s all. You. You’re different. You act like the only thing that matters is spending time with her sometimes. You seem happier, more lively. Like you can’t live without her.”
“T-Trixie is not some codependent little dime-store novel damsel!” I protested. But even I sounded unconvinced. Something Maud had said earlier caught up with me, and I grasped it like a drowning mare would grasp a rescue line. “Wait… it’s just… fun? You’re just friends? Does that mean–”
She didn’t say a word, she just gave me a stout nod, and that small smile returned again. My heart soared with hope. “I could help you if you want. Help confess your feelings.”
“Trixie doesn’t need help! Trixie–” I stopped short. “Oh, who am I kidding?” I whispered desperately, falling back so I could walk side by side with her. “I need all the help I can get.” My eyes widened as a new concern crossed my mind. “Do you… do you really think Trixie has a chance with Starlight?”
“You’re the Great and Powerful Trixie. You can do whatever you set your mind to. Besides, you never know if you don’t try.”
Author's Note
This was written with applezombi and I highly suggest you check him out. He's a great author and it was an honor to work with him on this.
