The Greatest Showmareby KoekelbagChaptersAn sudden invitationTo meet an old friendFor unexpected helpAn sudden invitation"Thank you all for coming to see us tonight! We hope you enjoyed the show!" The unicorn ringmare shouted out while holding her signature pointed hat high, starting a thunderous applause from the crowd. Nearly six hundred pairs of hooves shook the ground as seventeen heads started to bow, raise, and bow again, all the while being deafened by loud cheering and yelling. Heads raised again, they all started happily waving to the audience while the orchestra started her last song of the night. Under a funky, upbeat tune, each of the Troupe's artists started to leave the stage, doing a little dance routine on the way out before disappearing behind the curtains, until only the ringmare remained. With a smile on her face, she put her hat back on, concealing the slowly-increasing glow around her horn, and waited for the orchestra to finish their piece. Once she decided that it had gotten quiet enough, she started speaking again. "This was our last show in Vanhoover, and we all immensely enjoyed being able to perform here. You were all a wonderful crowd!" Waiting out the second round of cheers, she continued, keeping the spell she was charging up a secret still. "I hope you all had a wonderful night. If you did, be sure to spread word of us far and wide, so all can know the wonders they can experience wherever the Troupe decides to land next!" Seeing the excitement in so many eyes, the mare's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. The spell was ready, and as a special surprise for their final show, the Troupe went out with a bang. "Thank you Vanhoover!" she shouted as loudly as she could, and finally released her magic. Instantly, hundreds of little stars started to litter the air, miniature explosions of bright lights anywhere one could look, and everyone was stunned in awe. A Grand-level illusion, of course, as the mare would never considering using real fireworks this close to anyone, but it was no less breathtaking to watch. Before anyone could manage to tear their gaze away from the spectacle above them, she had already left the stage in a quick flash, officially, finally, ending one of the Troupe's greatest nights to date. And the crowd went wild again. Slowly closing the door to her study, the mare was positively exhausted. Flam was already at his desk, hard at work tallying the income and expenses of the night, beads on the abacus rising and falling in his magic. She didn't want to bother him in risk of messing something up, so she quietly walked towards the large sofa on the other side of the spacious room before getting herself into a comfortable position. Making sure that she was snuggled in quite nicely, she then levitated over a very special book lying on the main desk to her hooves. Daring Do and the Forbidden City of Clouds, first edition, hoof-signed As much as she liked doing the shows, nothing could beat that quiet bit of time right after it, where she can just read without worry. The Troupe will handle the clean-up and everything, on their own request, so that 'the mare who always does the majority of the work' can take a breather. Even if she felt a bit guilty about this in the past, she has since become all the more thankful for their decision. So now she'll just wait until Flim comes knocking on the door, hopefully bringing news that everything went smoothly, while enjoying her book. Carefully turning the cover and pages to the point where she last left off, she started to tune out the clacking of the abacus, the scribbling of endless numbers on paper, and the distant sounds of the audience being led away, losing herself in the excellent as usual writing of one of her favourite fiction writers, A. K. Yearling. She was still tired though, which slightly irritated her. Casting that new spell at the end of the show drained her more than she expected. Still, the knowledge that she was holding one of a trio of extremely rare books balanced things out. In the end, her decision to travel straight to Vanhoover after finishing their shows in Baltimane for a single lead turned out right, even if Fillydelphia and Manehatten were much closer and travel costs on the ship would have been much cheaper. Truth be told, whenever she takes a stroll through the city they are currently moored in, she occasionally hears rumours that the most logical explanation for the Troupe's seemingly random travel route is because they simply throw darts at a map, and she can't help but smile a little every time. Of course, everyone within the Troupe knew the real reason why, but that was a personal secret she wasn't as willing to let slip out, lest she be hounded by the press about it. So she read on, becoming engrossed in a story about an invisible city, forgotten treasures and an ancient group to protect them, never noticing the darkness that crept in her sight... As rays of light started to pierce closed lids, the mare slowly starts to open her eyes. Turning her head a bit groggily, she realized she isn't holding a book any more, and she also noticed a soft blanket covering her from hoof to neck. Oh, did she fall asleep? Yawning for a bit, she looks around the study to find that, yes, it is now empty and yes, the light shining through the window implies that Celestia has already raised the sun, even though it was still an hour past midnight just a few moments ago. Shaking her head a bit, she levitated the blanket off her and got into a sitting position. A bit more awake, she noticed her book lying back on her desk, a small piece of paper lying next to it, as well as the 'do not disturb' sign on the door flipped over. Flam must have tucked her in after she fell asleep, making sure that the book wasn't damaged and putting it back, before letting her sleep in peace. Stretching her legs and back, she slowly got off the couch and on her hooves. She must have been a lot more tired than she realized, if the clock on the wall showing it's already a few minutes past 10 o'clock is any indication. Walking to her desk, she was intrigued by the piece of paper she saw earlier, and started to read it... before she jumped a bit at the soft but rapid knock-knock on the door. A bit surprised, the mare quickly regained her composure and, after tidying up her frizzled bed hair somewhat, called out, "Come in." The door opened and in came the twins, looking immaculate as usual, one carrying some papers. Both bowed for a brief moment before addressing her. "Good morning, miss." Flim said. "Oh, apologies, did we wake you up, miss?" Flam followed up, without missing a single beat. She rolled her eyes. She might have tried time and time again for them to drop the formalities, at least when they are alone, but it seems this is the one thing they just will not budge on. So she just sighed and shook her head. "Good morning to you two as well." She said, stealing a quick glance at the piece of paper. We hope you had a good rest. When my brother came in, it appeared that you had fallen asleep, so we decided to just let you, miss. The book is alright. We'll check in at 10 o'clock at the earliest next morning. P.S. Mulia's menu for tomorrow morning includes her excellent but rare mousse. We'd suggest not holding off on visiting mess if you don't want to miss out on it. A slight smile forming on her lips at the courtesy, she pointed her head at the conference table while charging a spell, a few moments later disappearing in her tell-tale flash. The brothers shared a glance, and took a seat. Flim laid the papers he was holding on the table, making sure to not wrinkle anything, especially the single white envelop lying on the top of the stack. Half a minute passed until the second flash, the mare teleporting directly in a sitting position on her chair, a delicious hay breakfast topped off with a small cup of chocolate mousse laying in front of her on the table. She was about to dig in until she noticed the brothers looking at her, making her blush a bit. "Ah, sorry, I'm a bit hungry. Eh, how about you two fill me in on last night while I eat?" she asked. She could have sworn Flam cracked into a smile for a brief moment, moustache slightly moving, before returning to his usual neutral expression. "Very well, miss, please enjoy your meal." Flim replied, which she happily did. He laid the envelop to the side for now, and grabbed the sheets his brother was working on last night. "Firstly, the total income of last night's performance rounds up to about eight thousand bits, give or take." The mare nearly choked on her grass salad. The Troupe usually makes around a comfortable six thousand on a good night, seven on a great night, but eight? While it's true that the last shows usually bring in more ponies than usual, she didn't think there were that many more ponies in the audience last night. Flim, noticing the surprise, continued, "Did you notice the large group of zebras last night, miss? As it turns out, a delegation of diplomats from Zebrica was on its way to Canterlot. They stopped in Vanhoover to stay the night, noticed some of our advertisements, and decided to visit our last show." The mare finally managed to clear her throat. "Diplomats? I don't think I had been notified such, important people would be in the crowd..." she said, with a slight hint of accusation. What if she had messed up, and relations between Equestria and another nation would have worsened? What if the diplomats were offended by what they saw, and decide to take actions because of what the Troupe did? What if- "You had not been notified precisely because we did not want to worry you, miss." Flam said, breaking the mare away from her thoughts. "Apologies if this sounds brash of me to say, but you are known to freak out in such scenarios." ...Yeah, he's got a point there. "But you did not know, and so you did not worry, and so you and the Troupe put forth a, as one of the diplomats happily said afterwards, "most heavenly show, with a quality we did not expect." They also put in a request for the Troupe to travel to Zebrica, though we have to consider their different currencies, weather, and the like." The mare breathed out a sigh of relief. "Alright, so have a lot of spare bits now, that's good. Continue, Flim," she said, digging into her breakfast again. "The rest went relatively well. Outside of a few drunk off-duty guards who thought it was a good idea to test their prowess against Strong Shield, and their subsequent thrashing by the minotaur followed by the rather loud earful from their commanding lieutenant, nothing notably happened." The mare had a small laugh at this. If he was here, they would have gotten far more than a simple earful... "Lastly, we also have gotten some applications, as usual, but this time there were a few you may be interested in." Flim finished, laying a few papers in front of her. Just as the mare was enjoying the delicious mousse, her ears perked up at this. As successful as the Troupe has been, the amount of both ponies and non-ponies wanting to join the Troupe has risen as well, with varying levels of competency. Whether they think they are good enough to have their own act, or want to work in the background, all must pass the Troupe's rigid evaluations, both on their abilities and skills as well as their drive and motivations. So if Flim thinks a few have potential this time, that might be rather interesting indeed. She finished her dessert, and laid the tray to the side. As tempted as she was to start looking at the files before her, there was still one more thing that intrigued her. "So, save for the extra bits from the zebras, it was business as usual?" She asked, and the brothers gave a curt nod. "Well, that, and Bright Spark got an, hmm, unexpected present." Flam added, to which his brother picked up the neglected envelope with his magic and put it before her. The mare raised her brow at this. Flim replied. "The young dragon was, ahem, relieving himself, when he received this envelope last night..." "You mean..." the mare began, but Flim interjected her with a quick "I'm not going to be detailed about this, ask the drake himself if you really want to know", to which the mare laughed out loud. Taking a short while to shoo away the comedic thought, the mare recomposed herself, and took a better look at the envelope before her. She did not expect another letter from her old pen-pal for at least another week, so she's not really sure what she's looking at right now. The elegant yet simple 'From T." on the front does indicate it came from Ponyville, but why now? So she opened the letter, and started to read, not even asking Flim and Flam to leave the room as she usually does whenever she receives such a letter. As she went further down, Flim and Flam could see the brow above her eyes grow deeper, until her eyes lit up, before she started to read the letter again. Unsure what to do, they both simply waited. They had not been asked to leave, and they still had to discuss the Troupe's next destination, so they just... watched the mare, from now. Finishing her second read, the mare put the envelope down, and looked out the window. "A spell...? How much longer until the ship is ready to sail again, Flim?" She asked, not looking away. Flim, caught off-guard by the sudden question, had to take a few moments to consider. "Fo- no, three days, at least, taking fuel resupply and food restock in consideration. Tool Wrench also wanted to make a full check on the ship before taking off again." The mare nodded, looking at the envelope again, seemingly sunken in thought. The brothers were unsure again, as this was certainly a first. They looked at each other, hoping the other would bite the bullet. Flam eventually caved. "If I may, do you already have our next destination in mind, miss?" he asked. The mare looked up again at them, a smile now on her face. "Yeah. It's been a while, more than four years since I was there for the last time. But I've gotten an invitation, and so the Troupe will follow. Flim, Flam, get everyone ready for the journey. I'll try to interview the applicants in the next two days, but I want to leave as soon as possible." Flim and Flam shared a glance at this, both feeling a sense of dread, before asking in unison, "Where to, miss?" Twilight Sparkle grinned. "Ponyville." To meet an old friend"Spiiiiike!" With a soft sigh, the dragon put his comic down and got out of basket. As much as he wanted to continue reading, especially when he got to the best part, when his big sister used that tone to call him, he knew better than to just ignore it. So he left their shared bedroom and walked down two flights of stairs, claw gliding softly enough to not make scratches against the surprisingly still-alive wood of the walls. As he entered the main reading room of the old tree turned library, he found a very anxious unicorn mare looking outside the west-ward window. "Yeah?" he asked, though he already knew why she called. She went through a lot of effort to make sure her calender was free for today, giving Spike more than a few headaches in the process, but he decided to play along all the same. "She's here! Look, the airship has arrived!" Trixie said, hoof pointing out the window. Looking alongside the outstretched hoof, Spike couldn't help but let out a small whistle when he saw the giant floating zeppelin approaching, 'Sparkle's Troupe' written clearly on the side of the whale-shaped purple balloon, even at this distance. "Quite the contrast with that run-down cart she used way back. If the Troupe's shows can let her afford all that, maybe we and the girls ought to catch one as well sometime, right?" Spike wondered aloud, a slight hum being the only response from Trixie. Looking to his side, he noticed that Trixie seemed to be lost in thought, transfixed on the grand ship. "Hello, Hello, Equestria to the great student, anyone responding?" He said with a slight grin, a playful bump from his tail shaking her awake. Trixie looked around in bewilderment, before noticing the look Spike was giving her, and processing what he just said. "Ah, eh, yes... I'm sorry, Spike. I guess I'm just a bit too excited to see her again, I guess?" she replied with bit of a blush. "It's been, what, three years since we last met in person, at her brother's wedding? You know, uh, with the whole changeling invasion we miserably failed to prevent until Cadence and Shining had to step in, and all that..." Already anticipating yet another spiral of self-loathing his big sister was about to fall in, Spike hastily changed the subject. "But you regularly kept in touch through letters, right? I should know, I'm the one always sending them... anyway, what I mean to say, she's not going to be some kind of stranger once she knocks on the door later on. Also, you're the one who invited her in the first place. So why are you feeling so anxious now, Trix?" The mare shook her head, before looking at the ship again. "Just look at it, Spike. It's just as you said, she started journeying with next to nothing, nearly eight years ago now. And in just those eight short years, she's become so successful, leading her own company and even owning a private airship! She was always the more talented one between the two of us... Even if I somehow managed to become Princess Celestia's personal student, can I really compare to all, well, that?" Her voice was tinged with doubt, but Spike didn't hesitate to laugh, confusing the mare. Taking a moment to calm down, the drake began his counter-argument. "Sure, she's both a wildly successfully businessmare and an extremely talented spellcaster, but she's not the greatest student of Princess Celestia, nor a bearer of the elements." Trixie's eyes widened a bit, realizing where he was going with this. "And before you even try to suggest it, no, you were chosen by Celestia, chosen by the spark, not her. It was you and the girls that saved Equestria from the endless night." Trixie tried to protest, but Spike continued relentlessly. "It was you that saw through Discord's plan and found the elements before he could turn you and the girls against each other. The old Twilight would have just ran straight into that maze, but you didn't." "But the wedding-" Trixie said, some fire returning to her eyes, but Spike just crossed his arms over his chest, not letting up. "Even if you were the only one to believe Twilight that Cadence wasn't who she really was, it was still thanks to your trap exposing Chrysalis for the imposter that she was. Sure, it might have triggered the invasion early, but who knows how we might have ended up if they could actually fully prepare their attack. And as for what happened with Sombra..." The drake couldn't help but puff his chest out a bit. "Okay, I was pretty much the hero that day, but I couldn't have done it without your help! So you might be a bit of a coward at times, whoever said that was a bad thing? You never rush headlong into any dangerous situation, always taking the time to assess the situation and plan out a strategy. So don't you ever think you're worth less than any other pony, you got that?" The drake finished his speech, looking Trixie directly in the eyes, almost daring her to disagree. She was silent for a short while, before looking out the window again, gazing at the airship. Turning her head back to Spike, she smiled. "Yeah, you're right... thanks, Spike." she said. Spike merely replied with a short nod, satisfied. Trixie sat on her haunches, lifted her hooves in the air and lightly slapped her face a few times, before getting back up. "Everything is prepared for her visit, right?" She asked, determination clear in her eyes. Spike nodded again, walking over to a large reading table with a small list laying on it. "Daring's manuscript, in the top drawer, check. The ancient tome Celestia sent over, safely secured in the basement, check. Owlicious sleeping soundly on the top floor, check." He slightly grinned that this was even on the checklist to begin with. "Celestia's request we received yesterday, bottom drawer, check. And finally, baked goods from Sugarcube Corner, personally made by Pinkie, that's a check. Yup, everything seems to be in order." Trixie nodded. "Alright, then we simply wait." She looked at the ship again, now a frown on her face. "I do wonder when she'll come down. The ship has been hanging there for quite a while already..." "Oh, she already came down some time ago, in a smaller hot-air balloon." Spike said casually, not looking up. Trixie was suprised at this. "Wait what? How did I miss that?" Spike grinned cheekily. "Oh, well, it happened while I was giving that big inspiring speech. You know, I didn't want to stop my flow to point it out. Though, it did seem like the balloon was headed for town hall, not here." he replied, shrugging his shoulders. Trixie rolled her eyes while Spike talked, amused at his brashness. It did cheer her up, so she can't really say anything about it. "I imagine she wants to get permission first to keep the airship moored in Ponyville, as well as permission to have a show here." She said, having thought on it a bit. "Oh, right, she did reply that she agreed to stay a while in town now that she's here. Might as well hold a show to keep up with all the financial stuff that comes with managing that Troupe of hers, I suppose." Spike chimed in. They both nodded at each other, staying silent for a while. Before it became awkward, Spike asked, "So, uh, are you going out to see her?" Trixie shook her head. "Nah, I'd rather meet her here. I can wait a bit longer, no need to bother her if she needs to get some paperwork in order first. I don't imagine it'll take all that long in the first place." "Ah, alright. Eh, so it's ok if I, uh, go read a bit upstairs?" Spike asked, a sheepish smile on his face. He still ended on the really good part, after all. Trixie couldn't stop the small smile from appearing, nodding. "Oh alright, run along then. I'll be down in the basement for a bit. Just don't get too absorbed when I call, or I will-" "Directly teleport me downstairs, yeah yeah. Alright, see you in a few." Spike cut in, hastily leaving the room and going upstairs again. After making sure that the front door was locked, she opened the door to the basement and went down. *Might as well take another look at that damnable book, rehearse how I'm going to put this to Twilight.* An hour and a half an hour later, there was a loud knock on the door. Trixie looked up, surprised. She and Spike had already been waiting downstairs for quite a while now, both sure that Twilight wouldn't take too long to arrive. They might have underestimated that by a fair margin, but now she's here all the same. "Well, go on then. You invited her here, you should be the one to welcome her. I'll go prepare the sweets and drinks." Spike said, noticing Trixie's hesitation, and fled into the kitchen. Silently cursing Spike's agility when it really matters, she took a few short breaths, and walked to the door. Stay calm, Trixie. She's just an old friend, nothing to be nervous about. Open the door in three, two, one... She lit her horn up and the door was covered in a soft pink glow, slowly opening until she saw... two ponies she did not expect at all. Said ponies only smiled sheepishly back at her, no-one saying a word for a short while. Eventually, Trixie managed to process the sight in front of her. "...Flim? Flam? What the hay are you two doing here?" She asked, anger flaring in her voice. She certainly hadn't forgotten the last time they had met, when they almost put the Apples out of their lucrative cider-business, before hastily leaving town when they got caught out without even the slightest hint of an apology. Furthermore, perhaps the thing angering Trixie the most is that the two made a promise never to return if they lost that match, yet here they are. Put simply, Trixie cares a great deal about promises, perhaps even more than Pinkie Pie, so breaking one in front of her is never a good idea. Sensing the oncoming outburst, Flim and Flam hastily tried to defend themselves, but both fumbled over their words when they saw Trixie starting to light up her horn. "Don't worry, they're with me." A familiar voice came from behind the two, stunning Trixie. Not even having any time to react, a blurry purple thing barrelled from between the twin stallions straight for Trixie, catching her off guard. Before she could cast a shield spell, she realized someone was embracing her, and grasped the full picture. So she simply returned the hug, nuzzling against the face resting on her shoulder, blushing a bit. "Hey Twilight. Been a while, huh?" She asked, content to just stay in the embrace, her anger already forgotten. "Yeah, three years since my BBBFF's wedding. Too long." Twilight said, before breaking the hug. The two just looked at each other for a short while, staying silent, until Twilight cracked into a smile. "Did you put on weight?" She asked, tilting her head. "Yeah, yeah, Spike's constantly bothering me about that as well. You've gotten a lot more toned in comparison, right?" Trixie replied, not even bothered in the slightest. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I suppose. We managed to score an exercise instructor two years ago, and he's been putting the Troupe through their paces ever since." The two fell silent again, enjoying the moment for a bit. Flim and Flam stood to either side, unsure what, if, to say anything. Trixie broke the silence. "Well, come on in then. Spike should be just about ready with some delicious food." As they all started to settle around the large table in the middle of the room, Spike entered, carrying a large tray on his head, all sorts of sweets scattered across it. He briefly stopped when he noticed Flim and Flam were there too, but simply shrugged and carried on, putting the tray down in the middle of the table. "Hey Twilight, long time no seen. I'm guessing those two are with you?" He said while taking a seat himself, nudging to the brothers sitting somewhat uncomfortably across the table. "Yeah, they are. I've been told I don't need to introduce them to the both of you." Twilight responded. "You can say that again." Trixie chimed in, annoyance clear in her voice. "Before we do anything else, let's start with the biggest elephant in the room. How in the hay did they join you?" Twilight looked to the twins, who conveniently were looking away. Shaking her head, she collected her thoughts and replied. "I hired them, actually." This caught Trixie and Spike off guard. "Uhm, Twilight, you do know they are grifters and frauds, right? They nearly ran one of the most respected companies of Ponyville out of town by goading them into a competition they knew they would win..." Twilight nodded. "Yeah, that's how I was introduced to them. About half a year after I had my performance in Ponyville, I think, I made camp for the night a few miles from Los Pegasus. I was preparing to go to sleep, until I suddenly heard a commotion in the distance, in the direction of Los Pegasus... and two unicorns galloping right at me. Say, Flim, what was it you said then?" She asked, nudging him, taking a cupcake from the tray. Flim looked pleadingly to his brother, who was suddenly very interested in the surrounding bookcases. "I, eh... 'Help us, please. They want to throw us into jail...' or something, miss." Twilight nodded with satisfaction, finishing the sugary sweetness. "Yeah, that was it. Now, I'm not one to abandon two strangers in need, so I let them enter the cart to ask what was happening, just before I saw this whole swarm of ponies running towards me as well. They apparently didn't notice them entering, as one of the mares came up and asked me, 'excuse me miss, have you seen two unicorns running this direction?' " "I could tell this crowd was out for blood, so I kept quiet, shaking my head, innocently asking 'I'm afraid not, ma'am. I'm just a simply travelling magician. Did something happen?'. That seemed to satisfy them, as she replied with, 'Alright. If you do see them, be aware that they are extremely charismatic but dangerous frauds. They managed to sell about fifty barrels of some sort of 'wonder tonic' in Los Pegasus, until someone decided to run some tests on it and discovered it was just a mix of apple juice and beet leaves. Because they actually claimed it had magical effects when it didn't, they have to pay everything back, but they just made a run for it when we confronted them." Twilight laughed a bit, leaving Trixie and Spike a bit confused. "Like, really? Apple juice and beet leaves? Either the ponies in Los Pegasus weren't bright to begin with, which I doubted, or the two ponies I was harbouring at the time were indeed that charismatic to sell so much of it before someone caught up... which gave me a great idea. My eyes must have lit up when I realized it, because the mare suddenly looked at me with suspicion, so I had to improvise. 'Oh, wait, was it that? Actually, I didn't see two unicorns running by, as I was about to go to sleep in the cart over there, but I did hear a loud rustling heading north. I thought it was just some of the local wildlife, so I didn't give it a second thought. Could that have been them?' I said, and she seemed to buy it, as the group immediately turned around and ran north." "You had an idea? And you had just been told you were harbouring frauds, but protected them?" Trixie asked, trying to keep up. Spike seemed to realize where Twilight was going, however, looking between her and the brothers. "You saw an business opportunity, huh?" He said, and Twilight nodded. "Mhm, that's right. If they can sell more than a dozen barrels of the stuff, imagine how much they could help me out by advertising my show! it certainly would have helped with my travel goals if more ponies came to watch my performances, so I just entered the cart and simply asked them. They didn't have any objections, we worked out a contract, and that was pretty much the start of 'Sparkle's Troupe'. Believe me, without them, the Troupe would have nowhere been near as successfull." She finished, a bit out of breath from the long-winded story. "Not like we really had a chance to object, with that mob on our heels.." Flam muttered, but Twilight glanced at him. "Ah, I mean, we were grateful for the miss to present this opportunity to us. We had never really considered living an, eh, honest life until then, and we certainly wouldn't want to go back to it now." Flim nodded in agreement. Spike cut in, "So that explains the constant miss thing, then? Part of the contract?" Twilight was about to reply, but Flim was faster. 'Oh absolutely not. The miss has treated us with nothing but respect, she would never lay such restrictions on us. We are simply really thankful for giving us the chance at a more honest and stable life, and so we wish to repay it in kind from our own volition." Twilight sighed. "Yeah, that's pretty much it. Trust me, I've tried for them to be more informal with me, but they won't relent. I just learned to live with it." She leaned forward a bit, looking at Trixie. "So, does that ease your worries?" Trixie nodded. "Yeah. If you say you trust them, I'll... tolerate them, for now." Twilight laughed softly at that. "That's fine, I can live with that. It was a lot harder to talk to the Apples about it, that's for sure." Trixie's and Spike's ears perked up at that. Twilight noticed. "Oh, right, I hadn't told you yet. The paperwork at major, uh, Mare, was it? Major Mare? Anyway, we got all the permissions we needed from the town hall pretty quickly, but I insisted we visit the Apples first before coming here, so those two could properly apologise and pay compensation for what they did all those years ago. Smaller towns like these, rumors spread fast, and I did not want that happening if we were to hold a show here." "Ah, that's why you took so long?" Trixie asked, remembering how long they had to wait. "Yeah. Compensation didn't seem to be needed, they apparently never sold as well as they did after their little tussle with Flim and Flim, but that Granny Smith sure wanted to give them an earful, I'm glad I didn't need to hear all that." Twilight laughed again at the fresh memory, while Flim and Flam were silently blushing, ears red. "So, anyway, what was that letter about in the first place? A spell even the Great and Powerful Trixie needed help with?" She said, with a slight grin. For unexpected helpTrixie blushed a bit at the old nickname she had way back, back when the two of them were still studying together in Canterlot. "Well get to that in a bit" Trixie said, nodding to Spike. The dragon got the hint, walked over to a shelf and opened the top drawer, carefully taking out a somewhat thick book. Twilight, watching along with Spike's movements, seemed to get very excited at the sight of it. Trixie waited for Spike to return to the table with the book in claw, carefully lying it on the table. A few words were printed on the cover, and Twilight's eyes lit up on reading them. Daring Do and the Great Time Heist : Manuscript "Is this..." Twilight began, but the words didn't want to come out. Flim and Flam read along, and their eyes flew open. "A. K. Yearling's newest work?" Flim said. "And a manuscript to boot? This is worth at least..." Flim chimed in. "Over fifty thousand bits." Twilight finished, in disbelief at what she was seeing. She looked up at Trixie. "But... how?" She asked, the question obvious. "Well, Daring Do wanted to let her number one fan read it in advance. And I asked if I could lend it to her number two fan, as a favour, if I promised to keep this a complete secret. Well, Trixie keeps her promises, so here we are." She finished, nodding with satisfaction. "I knew you'd appreciate it." The gears were slowly starting to turn in Twilight's head. "Wait, wait, wait! You mean I can read it? Really?" She asked, disbelief clear in her voice. "Well, yeah. Isn't that why you're doing this travelling show in the first place? Let ponies see the wonders of magic, sure, but you've always done it to fund your search for new and rare books, right? But, you can only read it, and not tell a single soul of anything you read until it is published publicly. Well, I can trust you with that much, right?" Trixie said, eager to see Twilight's reaction. And she did not disappoint. "Yes! Yes! Yesyesyesyes!" Twilight shouted, jumping from her chair, and she started to skip around the table, never stopping her yes-chain. "I, uh, think she's happy with that, Trix." Spike said, not quite expecting this reaction. "This is a first as well for us." Flim and Flam chimed in. They have seen her happy plenty of times whenever Flim and Flam managed to track down one of the books they had a lead on in the cities the Troupe was staying at, but this is another level of happy entirely. So they all waited for the jumping pony to calm down, amused at the situation, grabbing a few sweets in the meantime. A short while later, Twilight began to slow down, audibly panting, before she sat down again. "I... wow, I honestly don't know what to say. The newest book in the Daring Do series, stars above, and I'm one of the first to read it? Thank you, Trixie, and I mean it. Genuinely, from the bottom of my heart... thank you for this." Twilight said, a big smile on her face. "Yeah, I knew you'd like it. And Daring said it was her best book to date, so have fun enjoying it." Trixie replied. Twilight tilted her head a bit. Flim and Flam seemed to have noticed it too. "Uh, Trixie, not to sound rude, especially after this great of a gift, but... you do know Daring Do isn't like, an actual person right? She's just the main character Yearling uses." Twilight said, smile faltering a bit. Trixie didn't back down though. Spike looked towards her. "Are you sure we're doing this. I mean, if it was just Twilight, sure, but Flim and Flam are here as well." Trixie shook her head. "It's fine, Spike, Twilight already vouched for them, I fully trust her. She'll probably enjoy it even more if she knows about it." That got Twilight's attention. Flim and Flam were leaning forward as well, curious where this was going. Trixie took a deep breath. "Don't be too surprised by this, Twi, but... Daring Do is a real person. She's A.K. Yearling. Or, well, Yearling is just the pseudonym Daring uses to publish her books." Twilight was in disbelief. "...okay, now you're just pulling my hoof. I've read all her books, so I know they can't be real. I mean..." Trixie nodded. "Yeah, I figured that would be your reaction. Just a moment, I'll be back in a while." She said, and charged her horn. Before Twilight could respond, she disappeared in a quick flash. Stupefied, she looked to Spike. "Oh, don't worry, she's just going to bring the number one fan to convince you, shouldn't take long" He said, shrugging his arms. "Huh." Twilight responded. "Wait, where did she go?" "Rainbow Dash's cloudhouse. It's ten miles to the west, give or take, she likes the open space there." Twilight's brows shot up. "Ten miles? Huh, she must have improved her magic by leaps when I last saw her, even I can only manage up to seven miles in a single teleport." Spike nodded. 'Oh, yeah, Trixie's been hard at work practising every day. She constantly goes on and on about 'needing to be stronger', but I'm pretty sure she's one of the top casters in Equestria already, she might have even surpassed you." He said nonchalantly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Twilight softened a bit at that. "She still feels like she has to measure up, even after all those years? To be the 'Great and Powerful'?" "Mwah, it's getting better, slowly but surely. She's certainly the greatest student Celestia has ever had, not that she really wants to accept it. Well, yet, anyway. But we'll get there, don't worry." Spike said, grabbing some more sweets to eat from the nearly empty tray. Before eating them, he gave a warm smile. "And, well, she's the greatest sister anyone could ask for." Twilight let out a laugh herself. "Well, you'd have to contend that with my BBBFF, but I know what you mean." Twilight looked to Flim and Flam, who seemed to have gotten uncomfortable at listening in. "No word about any of this to Trixie when she comes back, alright?" They silently nodded, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, with another bright flash, two more ponies stood in the large room. "Dangit Trixie, I said I was going to fly. You know I don't like teleporting around like this." One of them said, sighing, before perking up when she looked to the table. "Oh, hey Twilight. Saw the big balloon heading for Ponyville, so I figured you were back in... wait, is that Flim and Flam?" Rainbow said, surprised at the two brothers. "Long story Rainbow, I'll tell it another day. Just know that Twilight's good friends with them, and they made up with the Apples already." Trixie replied. Rainbow was silent for a moment, before shrugging. "Alright. Now, mind telling me what was so important you had to interrupt my nap time for, even teleporting me to horseshoe?" "It's on the table." Trixie said, and Rainbow flew over. "Oh, Daring's new book? What about it?" She asked, unsure what this was about. Twilight replied instead. "Trixie gave it to me to read it, and I was honestly ecstatic about it. And then I was blind sided by the fact that Yearling is actually Daring, which I couldn't believe, so she went to get you. But the fact that she even went so far as bringing you here to me has more than convinced me already, so..." "Huh? Oh, yeah, Daring's real, I can vouch for it. So, uh, was that all? If possible, I'd really like to go back to my nap..." Rainbow said, clearly eager to leave. Trixie couldn't help but shake her head, before she nodded. "Alright, awesome. See you later then, Twilight. Heard you were doing a show here, so us and the girls will probably catch it. Later." She waved goodbye, and flew out the window. Twilight waved back, unsure what to think of the short visit... until she heard a loud bang and saw a rainbow-coloured circle expanding, Rainbow Dash speeding off in a flash. She froze mid-wave. "That was..." she managed out, but couldn't finish the sentence. Trixie noticed the hesitation, and looked out the window. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, that's one of her sonic rainbooms. Don't worry, it'll disappear in a short while. Now, as for why I called you... Twilight, is everything alright?" She asked, suddenly worried. Twilight blinked, and noticed a tear had started to fall out of her right eye. Wiping away at it, she let out a small laugh. "Ah, haha, don't worry about it. I just... ah, nevermind, it's silly." "Are you sure? If you need a break, just say the word." Trixie responded, worry deepening. Did she tear up at seeing Rainbow's rainboom? Sure, if it's your first time seeing one, it can be quite overwhelming, but not to this extent. Twilight was silent for a while, hoof tapping softly on the table, until she spoke up. "Say, Trixie, do you remember why I signed up for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?" She asked, unsure. This caught Trixie off guard for a bit. "Eh, what do... Celestia's Summer Sun Celebration, right? You saw her raise the sun, so you wanted to study under her? Until..." "Until I failed the test, yes." Twilight continued, a sad smile on her face. Trixie did not like seeing that. "I was... inconsolable, after that. For a short while, at least. I was so amazed when she raised that sun, in disbelief at seeing such, how should I say it, brilliance? I studied so, so hard for that test, for a chance to learn from her, this shining pony, and yet... the one time it mattered, I failed. I even managed to take it two days earlier than planned." Taking a gulp, Trixie softly asked, 'But you picked yourself up, right? You enrolled at Canterlot junior high, met me when we were visiting the library for the same book, and we became fast friends after that. I'm not sure where... oh, wait, is this about that weird rainbow you saw? The one that inspired you to stop worrying about your failed test?" She finished, slowly realizing where this was going. "Yeah, that one. Two days after I failed that test, I still remember it cleary, I was walking outside with my parents who were trying to cheer me up, still depressed at my failure, until that happened. A giant, bright expanding circle of rainbow colours, lighting up the entire sky." "Rainbow's first rainboom?" Trixie whispered, more in disbelief to herself than anything. "Was it her first?" Twilight replied, making Trixie look up. "Well, once I saw that grand ring, I was perhaps even more amazed than when I saw Princes Celestia, and I instinctively knew this wasn't something the Princess could do, and that's when I realized it." She looked up, the tears fully gone now, a smile back on her face. "Equestria is so much bigger than Princess Celestia... no, this whole world is much, much bigger than that. And perhaps a lot more amazing than that. And I wanted to see it all. And, and, and... well, after all those years. I finally know what started it all so long ago." Twilight looked down again, and noticed the stares everypony and dragon was giving her, making her blush. "See, it told you it was silly..." Everyone was silent for a short while, not knowing how to respond to any of this, until Trixie started to chuckle, before breaking out in a full laughter. All eyes turned to her. Taking a moment to compose herself, she simply said, "Of course it did that. Of course it... haah, ahaha, of course, what else would it have been. Twilight, remember when I wrote you how me and the other girls got their cutiemarks?" Twilight tilted her head, not sure what Trixie expected here. "You got yours at your own test, when your magic suddenly spiralled out of control? When you hatched Spike, I mean." "Yeah, yeah, but the date, Twilight! It was two days after you took your test!" Trixie said, waiting for Twilight to realize the truth. "Two days after I..." Her eyes opened wide. "Wait, no... the rainboom? THAT was when you got it?" Twilight gasped. And then she laughed too. And Trixie joined her. Flim, Flam and Spike were just looking at each other in the meantime, unsure what to make of any of this. Calming down, Twilight spoke up first. "You know, I never really gave it any thought before, but fate might actually be real." Trixie laughed again, nodding. "Yeah, I understand that. Wow, that was a revelation and a half." Flim suddenly spoke up, surprising the two mares. "Miss, I hate to bother you, but it's getting quite late, and I don't think we still quite know why we came here in the first place. The crew is probably getting anxious right now, so..." "Ah, right. So, putting all that aside for a moment, why did you call me here in the first place, Trixie? You wrote about a spell or something?" Twilight asked, recalling the letter she read just a week ago. But Trixie shook her head. "It can wait, if you're staying in town for a while. Basically, Celestia sent over the last of Starswirl's spellbooks, with an unfinished spell on the very last page, and she asked me to look into it. I collected a lot of potential material on it, but I'm stuck in a sore spot, so I needed some outside help." "Starswirl?" Twilight eyes lit up. "Ooh, sound interesting. Did you cast it to see what it does? That's probably the first thing I would have done." Trixie raised her eyebrow. "What, no, of course not. This is Starswirl's potentially final spell we're talking about! Who knows what kind of destruction it might be capable off, so I am not just casting it without proper safeguards. But anyway, like Flim said, it is indeed getting quite late, so can look it over tomorrow, alright?" Twilight seemed anxious to see some of Starswirl's work, but she relented. "I... alright, tomorrow. We'll be taking our leave then." And with that, Twilight began to stand up, Flim and Flam following suit. As they walked to the door, Spike bumped Trixie with her tail again. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he whispered. Oh right, Celestia's letter. "Ah, Twi, one more thing before you leave." Trixie called out, opening the bottom drawer of the shelf and levitating the letter in it out. Twilight turned around, curious. "Here, it's a letter from Princess Celestia, to you." Trixie said, handing the enveloppe with the bright golden seal over. Taken aback by the sudden mail, from a princess no less, Twilight shakily took the letter, opened the seal and began to read. Flim and Flam started to sweat once they heard it came from Celestia herself. "Uh, we aren't in any trouble or anything, right? We made sure to right all the wrongs we did under miss Twilight's guidance, so unless we have forgotten something..." Trixie shook her head, letting Twilight continue to read. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that. You see, a few days ago, a large group of zebra diplomats arrived in Canterlot, and one of the things they eagerly talked about with the princesses was how good your show was, to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's surprise. So, knowing I already invited Twilight over to look into that spell, Princess Celestia send me a letter yesterday, to be delivered to Twilight directly, though I already know what's in it. I think you guys, and the Troupe especially, will be very happy with it." Just as Trixie finished, so did Twilight reading the letter. She seemed to be frozen in place. Flim and Flam, realizing what might have been in it, slowly began to dread the next few moments. "Uh, miss... would you mind telling us what the Princess wrote?" Flim asked, fear in his eyes. "Miss, are you okay? Did they write that they..." Flam tried to ask, but couldn't finish the sentence, already knowing the answer. "The-the... the princesses.... want to visit a show?" Twilight managed to stammer out, eventually. Trixie nodded, glad to see that Twilight seems to be excited about it. Spike doesn't seem to be as sure about it. Standing next to hear, he stood on his toes and whispered in her ear. "Trix, isn't this going to be a... you know." Trixie looked at him weirdly, wondering what he meant with... Oh. Oh no. How did she forget about that. Snapping her gaze towards Flim and Flam, she saw that they were trembling as well. Taking a step forward, she finally managed to look at Twilight, and realised she was muttering things under her breath. So she took another step forward. And another, and another, until she stood in front of the shivering mare, letter still clutched in her hoofs. She looks so small, so... vulnerable. Even if she was one of the most talented unicorns in all of the land, a grand-level caster and successful business-pony, running her own travelling show and all that, Twilight Sparkle still had one fatal flaw. And I forgot about it. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Twilight Sparkle did not handle the possibility of disappointing those around her well, if at all. And if she were to consider disappointing one of the princesses themselves, well... Trixie took her into a hug again, even stronger than the one they had when Twilight nearly tackled her earlier. Just let it all out, I'm here, I'll always be here. And so Trixie endured the infamous 'Twilight freak-out', never letting go, even until the very end. Author's Note Damn you poor time management, damn youuuuu. So yeah, finished this at about 11pm my timezone, 3 more hours till deadline, and need to wake up in about 5 hours to go to work, so apologies for any mistakes in advance. ok I'm out this took way too long but I enjoyed it all the same byeeeee edit: Okay, finally had some free time to look this over, most of the errors should be fixed now. Feel free to point any out if you still see them, though.
An sudden invitation"Thank you all for coming to see us tonight! We hope you enjoyed the show!" The unicorn ringmare shouted out while holding her signature pointed hat high, starting a thunderous applause from the crowd. Nearly six hundred pairs of hooves shook the ground as seventeen heads started to bow, raise, and bow again, all the while being deafened by loud cheering and yelling. Heads raised again, they all started happily waving to the audience while the orchestra started her last song of the night. Under a funky, upbeat tune, each of the Troupe's artists started to leave the stage, doing a little dance routine on the way out before disappearing behind the curtains, until only the ringmare remained. With a smile on her face, she put her hat back on, concealing the slowly-increasing glow around her horn, and waited for the orchestra to finish their piece. Once she decided that it had gotten quiet enough, she started speaking again. "This was our last show in Vanhoover, and we all immensely enjoyed being able to perform here. You were all a wonderful crowd!" Waiting out the second round of cheers, she continued, keeping the spell she was charging up a secret still. "I hope you all had a wonderful night. If you did, be sure to spread word of us far and wide, so all can know the wonders they can experience wherever the Troupe decides to land next!" Seeing the excitement in so many eyes, the mare's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. The spell was ready, and as a special surprise for their final show, the Troupe went out with a bang. "Thank you Vanhoover!" she shouted as loudly as she could, and finally released her magic. Instantly, hundreds of little stars started to litter the air, miniature explosions of bright lights anywhere one could look, and everyone was stunned in awe. A Grand-level illusion, of course, as the mare would never considering using real fireworks this close to anyone, but it was no less breathtaking to watch. Before anyone could manage to tear their gaze away from the spectacle above them, she had already left the stage in a quick flash, officially, finally, ending one of the Troupe's greatest nights to date. And the crowd went wild again. Slowly closing the door to her study, the mare was positively exhausted. Flam was already at his desk, hard at work tallying the income and expenses of the night, beads on the abacus rising and falling in his magic. She didn't want to bother him in risk of messing something up, so she quietly walked towards the large sofa on the other side of the spacious room before getting herself into a comfortable position. Making sure that she was snuggled in quite nicely, she then levitated over a very special book lying on the main desk to her hooves. Daring Do and the Forbidden City of Clouds, first edition, hoof-signed As much as she liked doing the shows, nothing could beat that quiet bit of time right after it, where she can just read without worry. The Troupe will handle the clean-up and everything, on their own request, so that 'the mare who always does the majority of the work' can take a breather. Even if she felt a bit guilty about this in the past, she has since become all the more thankful for their decision. So now she'll just wait until Flim comes knocking on the door, hopefully bringing news that everything went smoothly, while enjoying her book. Carefully turning the cover and pages to the point where she last left off, she started to tune out the clacking of the abacus, the scribbling of endless numbers on paper, and the distant sounds of the audience being led away, losing herself in the excellent as usual writing of one of her favourite fiction writers, A. K. Yearling. She was still tired though, which slightly irritated her. Casting that new spell at the end of the show drained her more than she expected. Still, the knowledge that she was holding one of a trio of extremely rare books balanced things out. In the end, her decision to travel straight to Vanhoover after finishing their shows in Baltimane for a single lead turned out right, even if Fillydelphia and Manehatten were much closer and travel costs on the ship would have been much cheaper. Truth be told, whenever she takes a stroll through the city they are currently moored in, she occasionally hears rumours that the most logical explanation for the Troupe's seemingly random travel route is because they simply throw darts at a map, and she can't help but smile a little every time. Of course, everyone within the Troupe knew the real reason why, but that was a personal secret she wasn't as willing to let slip out, lest she be hounded by the press about it. So she read on, becoming engrossed in a story about an invisible city, forgotten treasures and an ancient group to protect them, never noticing the darkness that crept in her sight... As rays of light started to pierce closed lids, the mare slowly starts to open her eyes. Turning her head a bit groggily, she realized she isn't holding a book any more, and she also noticed a soft blanket covering her from hoof to neck. Oh, did she fall asleep? Yawning for a bit, she looks around the study to find that, yes, it is now empty and yes, the light shining through the window implies that Celestia has already raised the sun, even though it was still an hour past midnight just a few moments ago. Shaking her head a bit, she levitated the blanket off her and got into a sitting position. A bit more awake, she noticed her book lying back on her desk, a small piece of paper lying next to it, as well as the 'do not disturb' sign on the door flipped over. Flam must have tucked her in after she fell asleep, making sure that the book wasn't damaged and putting it back, before letting her sleep in peace. Stretching her legs and back, she slowly got off the couch and on her hooves. She must have been a lot more tired than she realized, if the clock on the wall showing it's already a few minutes past 10 o'clock is any indication. Walking to her desk, she was intrigued by the piece of paper she saw earlier, and started to read it... before she jumped a bit at the soft but rapid knock-knock on the door. A bit surprised, the mare quickly regained her composure and, after tidying up her frizzled bed hair somewhat, called out, "Come in." The door opened and in came the twins, looking immaculate as usual, one carrying some papers. Both bowed for a brief moment before addressing her. "Good morning, miss." Flim said. "Oh, apologies, did we wake you up, miss?" Flam followed up, without missing a single beat. She rolled her eyes. She might have tried time and time again for them to drop the formalities, at least when they are alone, but it seems this is the one thing they just will not budge on. So she just sighed and shook her head. "Good morning to you two as well." She said, stealing a quick glance at the piece of paper. We hope you had a good rest. When my brother came in, it appeared that you had fallen asleep, so we decided to just let you, miss. The book is alright. We'll check in at 10 o'clock at the earliest next morning. P.S. Mulia's menu for tomorrow morning includes her excellent but rare mousse. We'd suggest not holding off on visiting mess if you don't want to miss out on it. A slight smile forming on her lips at the courtesy, she pointed her head at the conference table while charging a spell, a few moments later disappearing in her tell-tale flash. The brothers shared a glance, and took a seat. Flim laid the papers he was holding on the table, making sure to not wrinkle anything, especially the single white envelop lying on the top of the stack. Half a minute passed until the second flash, the mare teleporting directly in a sitting position on her chair, a delicious hay breakfast topped off with a small cup of chocolate mousse laying in front of her on the table. She was about to dig in until she noticed the brothers looking at her, making her blush a bit. "Ah, sorry, I'm a bit hungry. Eh, how about you two fill me in on last night while I eat?" she asked. She could have sworn Flam cracked into a smile for a brief moment, moustache slightly moving, before returning to his usual neutral expression. "Very well, miss, please enjoy your meal." Flim replied, which she happily did. He laid the envelop to the side for now, and grabbed the sheets his brother was working on last night. "Firstly, the total income of last night's performance rounds up to about eight thousand bits, give or take." The mare nearly choked on her grass salad. The Troupe usually makes around a comfortable six thousand on a good night, seven on a great night, but eight? While it's true that the last shows usually bring in more ponies than usual, she didn't think there were that many more ponies in the audience last night. Flim, noticing the surprise, continued, "Did you notice the large group of zebras last night, miss? As it turns out, a delegation of diplomats from Zebrica was on its way to Canterlot. They stopped in Vanhoover to stay the night, noticed some of our advertisements, and decided to visit our last show." The mare finally managed to clear her throat. "Diplomats? I don't think I had been notified such, important people would be in the crowd..." she said, with a slight hint of accusation. What if she had messed up, and relations between Equestria and another nation would have worsened? What if the diplomats were offended by what they saw, and decide to take actions because of what the Troupe did? What if- "You had not been notified precisely because we did not want to worry you, miss." Flam said, breaking the mare away from her thoughts. "Apologies if this sounds brash of me to say, but you are known to freak out in such scenarios." ...Yeah, he's got a point there. "But you did not know, and so you did not worry, and so you and the Troupe put forth a, as one of the diplomats happily said afterwards, "most heavenly show, with a quality we did not expect." They also put in a request for the Troupe to travel to Zebrica, though we have to consider their different currencies, weather, and the like." The mare breathed out a sigh of relief. "Alright, so have a lot of spare bits now, that's good. Continue, Flim," she said, digging into her breakfast again. "The rest went relatively well. Outside of a few drunk off-duty guards who thought it was a good idea to test their prowess against Strong Shield, and their subsequent thrashing by the minotaur followed by the rather loud earful from their commanding lieutenant, nothing notably happened." The mare had a small laugh at this. If he was here, they would have gotten far more than a simple earful... "Lastly, we also have gotten some applications, as usual, but this time there were a few you may be interested in." Flim finished, laying a few papers in front of her. Just as the mare was enjoying the delicious mousse, her ears perked up at this. As successful as the Troupe has been, the amount of both ponies and non-ponies wanting to join the Troupe has risen as well, with varying levels of competency. Whether they think they are good enough to have their own act, or want to work in the background, all must pass the Troupe's rigid evaluations, both on their abilities and skills as well as their drive and motivations. So if Flim thinks a few have potential this time, that might be rather interesting indeed. She finished her dessert, and laid the tray to the side. As tempted as she was to start looking at the files before her, there was still one more thing that intrigued her. "So, save for the extra bits from the zebras, it was business as usual?" She asked, and the brothers gave a curt nod. "Well, that, and Bright Spark got an, hmm, unexpected present." Flam added, to which his brother picked up the neglected envelope with his magic and put it before her. The mare raised her brow at this. Flim replied. "The young dragon was, ahem, relieving himself, when he received this envelope last night..." "You mean..." the mare began, but Flim interjected her with a quick "I'm not going to be detailed about this, ask the drake himself if you really want to know", to which the mare laughed out loud. Taking a short while to shoo away the comedic thought, the mare recomposed herself, and took a better look at the envelope before her. She did not expect another letter from her old pen-pal for at least another week, so she's not really sure what she's looking at right now. The elegant yet simple 'From T." on the front does indicate it came from Ponyville, but why now? So she opened the letter, and started to read, not even asking Flim and Flam to leave the room as she usually does whenever she receives such a letter. As she went further down, Flim and Flam could see the brow above her eyes grow deeper, until her eyes lit up, before she started to read the letter again. Unsure what to do, they both simply waited. They had not been asked to leave, and they still had to discuss the Troupe's next destination, so they just... watched the mare, from now. Finishing her second read, the mare put the envelope down, and looked out the window. "A spell...? How much longer until the ship is ready to sail again, Flim?" She asked, not looking away. Flim, caught off-guard by the sudden question, had to take a few moments to consider. "Fo- no, three days, at least, taking fuel resupply and food restock in consideration. Tool Wrench also wanted to make a full check on the ship before taking off again." The mare nodded, looking at the envelope again, seemingly sunken in thought. The brothers were unsure again, as this was certainly a first. They looked at each other, hoping the other would bite the bullet. Flam eventually caved. "If I may, do you already have our next destination in mind, miss?" he asked. The mare looked up again at them, a smile now on her face. "Yeah. It's been a while, more than four years since I was there for the last time. But I've gotten an invitation, and so the Troupe will follow. Flim, Flam, get everyone ready for the journey. I'll try to interview the applicants in the next two days, but I want to leave as soon as possible." Flim and Flam shared a glance at this, both feeling a sense of dread, before asking in unison, "Where to, miss?" Twilight Sparkle grinned. "Ponyville."
To meet an old friend"Spiiiiike!" With a soft sigh, the dragon put his comic down and got out of basket. As much as he wanted to continue reading, especially when he got to the best part, when his big sister used that tone to call him, he knew better than to just ignore it. So he left their shared bedroom and walked down two flights of stairs, claw gliding softly enough to not make scratches against the surprisingly still-alive wood of the walls. As he entered the main reading room of the old tree turned library, he found a very anxious unicorn mare looking outside the west-ward window. "Yeah?" he asked, though he already knew why she called. She went through a lot of effort to make sure her calender was free for today, giving Spike more than a few headaches in the process, but he decided to play along all the same. "She's here! Look, the airship has arrived!" Trixie said, hoof pointing out the window. Looking alongside the outstretched hoof, Spike couldn't help but let out a small whistle when he saw the giant floating zeppelin approaching, 'Sparkle's Troupe' written clearly on the side of the whale-shaped purple balloon, even at this distance. "Quite the contrast with that run-down cart she used way back. If the Troupe's shows can let her afford all that, maybe we and the girls ought to catch one as well sometime, right?" Spike wondered aloud, a slight hum being the only response from Trixie. Looking to his side, he noticed that Trixie seemed to be lost in thought, transfixed on the grand ship. "Hello, Hello, Equestria to the great student, anyone responding?" He said with a slight grin, a playful bump from his tail shaking her awake. Trixie looked around in bewilderment, before noticing the look Spike was giving her, and processing what he just said. "Ah, eh, yes... I'm sorry, Spike. I guess I'm just a bit too excited to see her again, I guess?" she replied with bit of a blush. "It's been, what, three years since we last met in person, at her brother's wedding? You know, uh, with the whole changeling invasion we miserably failed to prevent until Cadence and Shining had to step in, and all that..." Already anticipating yet another spiral of self-loathing his big sister was about to fall in, Spike hastily changed the subject. "But you regularly kept in touch through letters, right? I should know, I'm the one always sending them... anyway, what I mean to say, she's not going to be some kind of stranger once she knocks on the door later on. Also, you're the one who invited her in the first place. So why are you feeling so anxious now, Trix?" The mare shook her head, before looking at the ship again. "Just look at it, Spike. It's just as you said, she started journeying with next to nothing, nearly eight years ago now. And in just those eight short years, she's become so successful, leading her own company and even owning a private airship! She was always the more talented one between the two of us... Even if I somehow managed to become Princess Celestia's personal student, can I really compare to all, well, that?" Her voice was tinged with doubt, but Spike didn't hesitate to laugh, confusing the mare. Taking a moment to calm down, the drake began his counter-argument. "Sure, she's both a wildly successfully businessmare and an extremely talented spellcaster, but she's not the greatest student of Princess Celestia, nor a bearer of the elements." Trixie's eyes widened a bit, realizing where he was going with this. "And before you even try to suggest it, no, you were chosen by Celestia, chosen by the spark, not her. It was you and the girls that saved Equestria from the endless night." Trixie tried to protest, but Spike continued relentlessly. "It was you that saw through Discord's plan and found the elements before he could turn you and the girls against each other. The old Twilight would have just ran straight into that maze, but you didn't." "But the wedding-" Trixie said, some fire returning to her eyes, but Spike just crossed his arms over his chest, not letting up. "Even if you were the only one to believe Twilight that Cadence wasn't who she really was, it was still thanks to your trap exposing Chrysalis for the imposter that she was. Sure, it might have triggered the invasion early, but who knows how we might have ended up if they could actually fully prepare their attack. And as for what happened with Sombra..." The drake couldn't help but puff his chest out a bit. "Okay, I was pretty much the hero that day, but I couldn't have done it without your help! So you might be a bit of a coward at times, whoever said that was a bad thing? You never rush headlong into any dangerous situation, always taking the time to assess the situation and plan out a strategy. So don't you ever think you're worth less than any other pony, you got that?" The drake finished his speech, looking Trixie directly in the eyes, almost daring her to disagree. She was silent for a short while, before looking out the window again, gazing at the airship. Turning her head back to Spike, she smiled. "Yeah, you're right... thanks, Spike." she said. Spike merely replied with a short nod, satisfied. Trixie sat on her haunches, lifted her hooves in the air and lightly slapped her face a few times, before getting back up. "Everything is prepared for her visit, right?" She asked, determination clear in her eyes. Spike nodded again, walking over to a large reading table with a small list laying on it. "Daring's manuscript, in the top drawer, check. The ancient tome Celestia sent over, safely secured in the basement, check. Owlicious sleeping soundly on the top floor, check." He slightly grinned that this was even on the checklist to begin with. "Celestia's request we received yesterday, bottom drawer, check. And finally, baked goods from Sugarcube Corner, personally made by Pinkie, that's a check. Yup, everything seems to be in order." Trixie nodded. "Alright, then we simply wait." She looked at the ship again, now a frown on her face. "I do wonder when she'll come down. The ship has been hanging there for quite a while already..." "Oh, she already came down some time ago, in a smaller hot-air balloon." Spike said casually, not looking up. Trixie was suprised at this. "Wait what? How did I miss that?" Spike grinned cheekily. "Oh, well, it happened while I was giving that big inspiring speech. You know, I didn't want to stop my flow to point it out. Though, it did seem like the balloon was headed for town hall, not here." he replied, shrugging his shoulders. Trixie rolled her eyes while Spike talked, amused at his brashness. It did cheer her up, so she can't really say anything about it. "I imagine she wants to get permission first to keep the airship moored in Ponyville, as well as permission to have a show here." She said, having thought on it a bit. "Oh, right, she did reply that she agreed to stay a while in town now that she's here. Might as well hold a show to keep up with all the financial stuff that comes with managing that Troupe of hers, I suppose." Spike chimed in. They both nodded at each other, staying silent for a while. Before it became awkward, Spike asked, "So, uh, are you going out to see her?" Trixie shook her head. "Nah, I'd rather meet her here. I can wait a bit longer, no need to bother her if she needs to get some paperwork in order first. I don't imagine it'll take all that long in the first place." "Ah, alright. Eh, so it's ok if I, uh, go read a bit upstairs?" Spike asked, a sheepish smile on his face. He still ended on the really good part, after all. Trixie couldn't stop the small smile from appearing, nodding. "Oh alright, run along then. I'll be down in the basement for a bit. Just don't get too absorbed when I call, or I will-" "Directly teleport me downstairs, yeah yeah. Alright, see you in a few." Spike cut in, hastily leaving the room and going upstairs again. After making sure that the front door was locked, she opened the door to the basement and went down. *Might as well take another look at that damnable book, rehearse how I'm going to put this to Twilight.* An hour and a half an hour later, there was a loud knock on the door. Trixie looked up, surprised. She and Spike had already been waiting downstairs for quite a while now, both sure that Twilight wouldn't take too long to arrive. They might have underestimated that by a fair margin, but now she's here all the same. "Well, go on then. You invited her here, you should be the one to welcome her. I'll go prepare the sweets and drinks." Spike said, noticing Trixie's hesitation, and fled into the kitchen. Silently cursing Spike's agility when it really matters, she took a few short breaths, and walked to the door. Stay calm, Trixie. She's just an old friend, nothing to be nervous about. Open the door in three, two, one... She lit her horn up and the door was covered in a soft pink glow, slowly opening until she saw... two ponies she did not expect at all. Said ponies only smiled sheepishly back at her, no-one saying a word for a short while. Eventually, Trixie managed to process the sight in front of her. "...Flim? Flam? What the hay are you two doing here?" She asked, anger flaring in her voice. She certainly hadn't forgotten the last time they had met, when they almost put the Apples out of their lucrative cider-business, before hastily leaving town when they got caught out without even the slightest hint of an apology. Furthermore, perhaps the thing angering Trixie the most is that the two made a promise never to return if they lost that match, yet here they are. Put simply, Trixie cares a great deal about promises, perhaps even more than Pinkie Pie, so breaking one in front of her is never a good idea. Sensing the oncoming outburst, Flim and Flam hastily tried to defend themselves, but both fumbled over their words when they saw Trixie starting to light up her horn. "Don't worry, they're with me." A familiar voice came from behind the two, stunning Trixie. Not even having any time to react, a blurry purple thing barrelled from between the twin stallions straight for Trixie, catching her off guard. Before she could cast a shield spell, she realized someone was embracing her, and grasped the full picture. So she simply returned the hug, nuzzling against the face resting on her shoulder, blushing a bit. "Hey Twilight. Been a while, huh?" She asked, content to just stay in the embrace, her anger already forgotten. "Yeah, three years since my BBBFF's wedding. Too long." Twilight said, before breaking the hug. The two just looked at each other for a short while, staying silent, until Twilight cracked into a smile. "Did you put on weight?" She asked, tilting her head. "Yeah, yeah, Spike's constantly bothering me about that as well. You've gotten a lot more toned in comparison, right?" Trixie replied, not even bothered in the slightest. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I suppose. We managed to score an exercise instructor two years ago, and he's been putting the Troupe through their paces ever since." The two fell silent again, enjoying the moment for a bit. Flim and Flam stood to either side, unsure what, if, to say anything. Trixie broke the silence. "Well, come on in then. Spike should be just about ready with some delicious food." As they all started to settle around the large table in the middle of the room, Spike entered, carrying a large tray on his head, all sorts of sweets scattered across it. He briefly stopped when he noticed Flim and Flam were there too, but simply shrugged and carried on, putting the tray down in the middle of the table. "Hey Twilight, long time no seen. I'm guessing those two are with you?" He said while taking a seat himself, nudging to the brothers sitting somewhat uncomfortably across the table. "Yeah, they are. I've been told I don't need to introduce them to the both of you." Twilight responded. "You can say that again." Trixie chimed in, annoyance clear in her voice. "Before we do anything else, let's start with the biggest elephant in the room. How in the hay did they join you?" Twilight looked to the twins, who conveniently were looking away. Shaking her head, she collected her thoughts and replied. "I hired them, actually." This caught Trixie and Spike off guard. "Uhm, Twilight, you do know they are grifters and frauds, right? They nearly ran one of the most respected companies of Ponyville out of town by goading them into a competition they knew they would win..." Twilight nodded. "Yeah, that's how I was introduced to them. About half a year after I had my performance in Ponyville, I think, I made camp for the night a few miles from Los Pegasus. I was preparing to go to sleep, until I suddenly heard a commotion in the distance, in the direction of Los Pegasus... and two unicorns galloping right at me. Say, Flim, what was it you said then?" She asked, nudging him, taking a cupcake from the tray. Flim looked pleadingly to his brother, who was suddenly very interested in the surrounding bookcases. "I, eh... 'Help us, please. They want to throw us into jail...' or something, miss." Twilight nodded with satisfaction, finishing the sugary sweetness. "Yeah, that was it. Now, I'm not one to abandon two strangers in need, so I let them enter the cart to ask what was happening, just before I saw this whole swarm of ponies running towards me as well. They apparently didn't notice them entering, as one of the mares came up and asked me, 'excuse me miss, have you seen two unicorns running this direction?' " "I could tell this crowd was out for blood, so I kept quiet, shaking my head, innocently asking 'I'm afraid not, ma'am. I'm just a simply travelling magician. Did something happen?'. That seemed to satisfy them, as she replied with, 'Alright. If you do see them, be aware that they are extremely charismatic but dangerous frauds. They managed to sell about fifty barrels of some sort of 'wonder tonic' in Los Pegasus, until someone decided to run some tests on it and discovered it was just a mix of apple juice and beet leaves. Because they actually claimed it had magical effects when it didn't, they have to pay everything back, but they just made a run for it when we confronted them." Twilight laughed a bit, leaving Trixie and Spike a bit confused. "Like, really? Apple juice and beet leaves? Either the ponies in Los Pegasus weren't bright to begin with, which I doubted, or the two ponies I was harbouring at the time were indeed that charismatic to sell so much of it before someone caught up... which gave me a great idea. My eyes must have lit up when I realized it, because the mare suddenly looked at me with suspicion, so I had to improvise. 'Oh, wait, was it that? Actually, I didn't see two unicorns running by, as I was about to go to sleep in the cart over there, but I did hear a loud rustling heading north. I thought it was just some of the local wildlife, so I didn't give it a second thought. Could that have been them?' I said, and she seemed to buy it, as the group immediately turned around and ran north." "You had an idea? And you had just been told you were harbouring frauds, but protected them?" Trixie asked, trying to keep up. Spike seemed to realize where Twilight was going, however, looking between her and the brothers. "You saw an business opportunity, huh?" He said, and Twilight nodded. "Mhm, that's right. If they can sell more than a dozen barrels of the stuff, imagine how much they could help me out by advertising my show! it certainly would have helped with my travel goals if more ponies came to watch my performances, so I just entered the cart and simply asked them. They didn't have any objections, we worked out a contract, and that was pretty much the start of 'Sparkle's Troupe'. Believe me, without them, the Troupe would have nowhere been near as successfull." She finished, a bit out of breath from the long-winded story. "Not like we really had a chance to object, with that mob on our heels.." Flam muttered, but Twilight glanced at him. "Ah, I mean, we were grateful for the miss to present this opportunity to us. We had never really considered living an, eh, honest life until then, and we certainly wouldn't want to go back to it now." Flim nodded in agreement. Spike cut in, "So that explains the constant miss thing, then? Part of the contract?" Twilight was about to reply, but Flim was faster. 'Oh absolutely not. The miss has treated us with nothing but respect, she would never lay such restrictions on us. We are simply really thankful for giving us the chance at a more honest and stable life, and so we wish to repay it in kind from our own volition." Twilight sighed. "Yeah, that's pretty much it. Trust me, I've tried for them to be more informal with me, but they won't relent. I just learned to live with it." She leaned forward a bit, looking at Trixie. "So, does that ease your worries?" Trixie nodded. "Yeah. If you say you trust them, I'll... tolerate them, for now." Twilight laughed softly at that. "That's fine, I can live with that. It was a lot harder to talk to the Apples about it, that's for sure." Trixie's and Spike's ears perked up at that. Twilight noticed. "Oh, right, I hadn't told you yet. The paperwork at major, uh, Mare, was it? Major Mare? Anyway, we got all the permissions we needed from the town hall pretty quickly, but I insisted we visit the Apples first before coming here, so those two could properly apologise and pay compensation for what they did all those years ago. Smaller towns like these, rumors spread fast, and I did not want that happening if we were to hold a show here." "Ah, that's why you took so long?" Trixie asked, remembering how long they had to wait. "Yeah. Compensation didn't seem to be needed, they apparently never sold as well as they did after their little tussle with Flim and Flim, but that Granny Smith sure wanted to give them an earful, I'm glad I didn't need to hear all that." Twilight laughed again at the fresh memory, while Flim and Flam were silently blushing, ears red. "So, anyway, what was that letter about in the first place? A spell even the Great and Powerful Trixie needed help with?" She said, with a slight grin.
For unexpected helpTrixie blushed a bit at the old nickname she had way back, back when the two of them were still studying together in Canterlot. "Well get to that in a bit" Trixie said, nodding to Spike. The dragon got the hint, walked over to a shelf and opened the top drawer, carefully taking out a somewhat thick book. Twilight, watching along with Spike's movements, seemed to get very excited at the sight of it. Trixie waited for Spike to return to the table with the book in claw, carefully lying it on the table. A few words were printed on the cover, and Twilight's eyes lit up on reading them. Daring Do and the Great Time Heist : Manuscript "Is this..." Twilight began, but the words didn't want to come out. Flim and Flam read along, and their eyes flew open. "A. K. Yearling's newest work?" Flim said. "And a manuscript to boot? This is worth at least..." Flim chimed in. "Over fifty thousand bits." Twilight finished, in disbelief at what she was seeing. She looked up at Trixie. "But... how?" She asked, the question obvious. "Well, Daring Do wanted to let her number one fan read it in advance. And I asked if I could lend it to her number two fan, as a favour, if I promised to keep this a complete secret. Well, Trixie keeps her promises, so here we are." She finished, nodding with satisfaction. "I knew you'd appreciate it." The gears were slowly starting to turn in Twilight's head. "Wait, wait, wait! You mean I can read it? Really?" She asked, disbelief clear in her voice. "Well, yeah. Isn't that why you're doing this travelling show in the first place? Let ponies see the wonders of magic, sure, but you've always done it to fund your search for new and rare books, right? But, you can only read it, and not tell a single soul of anything you read until it is published publicly. Well, I can trust you with that much, right?" Trixie said, eager to see Twilight's reaction. And she did not disappoint. "Yes! Yes! Yesyesyesyes!" Twilight shouted, jumping from her chair, and she started to skip around the table, never stopping her yes-chain. "I, uh, think she's happy with that, Trix." Spike said, not quite expecting this reaction. "This is a first as well for us." Flim and Flam chimed in. They have seen her happy plenty of times whenever Flim and Flam managed to track down one of the books they had a lead on in the cities the Troupe was staying at, but this is another level of happy entirely. So they all waited for the jumping pony to calm down, amused at the situation, grabbing a few sweets in the meantime. A short while later, Twilight began to slow down, audibly panting, before she sat down again. "I... wow, I honestly don't know what to say. The newest book in the Daring Do series, stars above, and I'm one of the first to read it? Thank you, Trixie, and I mean it. Genuinely, from the bottom of my heart... thank you for this." Twilight said, a big smile on her face. "Yeah, I knew you'd like it. And Daring said it was her best book to date, so have fun enjoying it." Trixie replied. Twilight tilted her head a bit. Flim and Flam seemed to have noticed it too. "Uh, Trixie, not to sound rude, especially after this great of a gift, but... you do know Daring Do isn't like, an actual person right? She's just the main character Yearling uses." Twilight said, smile faltering a bit. Trixie didn't back down though. Spike looked towards her. "Are you sure we're doing this. I mean, if it was just Twilight, sure, but Flim and Flam are here as well." Trixie shook her head. "It's fine, Spike, Twilight already vouched for them, I fully trust her. She'll probably enjoy it even more if she knows about it." That got Twilight's attention. Flim and Flam were leaning forward as well, curious where this was going. Trixie took a deep breath. "Don't be too surprised by this, Twi, but... Daring Do is a real person. She's A.K. Yearling. Or, well, Yearling is just the pseudonym Daring uses to publish her books." Twilight was in disbelief. "...okay, now you're just pulling my hoof. I've read all her books, so I know they can't be real. I mean..." Trixie nodded. "Yeah, I figured that would be your reaction. Just a moment, I'll be back in a while." She said, and charged her horn. Before Twilight could respond, she disappeared in a quick flash. Stupefied, she looked to Spike. "Oh, don't worry, she's just going to bring the number one fan to convince you, shouldn't take long" He said, shrugging his arms. "Huh." Twilight responded. "Wait, where did she go?" "Rainbow Dash's cloudhouse. It's ten miles to the west, give or take, she likes the open space there." Twilight's brows shot up. "Ten miles? Huh, she must have improved her magic by leaps when I last saw her, even I can only manage up to seven miles in a single teleport." Spike nodded. 'Oh, yeah, Trixie's been hard at work practising every day. She constantly goes on and on about 'needing to be stronger', but I'm pretty sure she's one of the top casters in Equestria already, she might have even surpassed you." He said nonchalantly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Twilight softened a bit at that. "She still feels like she has to measure up, even after all those years? To be the 'Great and Powerful'?" "Mwah, it's getting better, slowly but surely. She's certainly the greatest student Celestia has ever had, not that she really wants to accept it. Well, yet, anyway. But we'll get there, don't worry." Spike said, grabbing some more sweets to eat from the nearly empty tray. Before eating them, he gave a warm smile. "And, well, she's the greatest sister anyone could ask for." Twilight let out a laugh herself. "Well, you'd have to contend that with my BBBFF, but I know what you mean." Twilight looked to Flim and Flam, who seemed to have gotten uncomfortable at listening in. "No word about any of this to Trixie when she comes back, alright?" They silently nodded, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, with another bright flash, two more ponies stood in the large room. "Dangit Trixie, I said I was going to fly. You know I don't like teleporting around like this." One of them said, sighing, before perking up when she looked to the table. "Oh, hey Twilight. Saw the big balloon heading for Ponyville, so I figured you were back in... wait, is that Flim and Flam?" Rainbow said, surprised at the two brothers. "Long story Rainbow, I'll tell it another day. Just know that Twilight's good friends with them, and they made up with the Apples already." Trixie replied. Rainbow was silent for a moment, before shrugging. "Alright. Now, mind telling me what was so important you had to interrupt my nap time for, even teleporting me to horseshoe?" "It's on the table." Trixie said, and Rainbow flew over. "Oh, Daring's new book? What about it?" She asked, unsure what this was about. Twilight replied instead. "Trixie gave it to me to read it, and I was honestly ecstatic about it. And then I was blind sided by the fact that Yearling is actually Daring, which I couldn't believe, so she went to get you. But the fact that she even went so far as bringing you here to me has more than convinced me already, so..." "Huh? Oh, yeah, Daring's real, I can vouch for it. So, uh, was that all? If possible, I'd really like to go back to my nap..." Rainbow said, clearly eager to leave. Trixie couldn't help but shake her head, before she nodded. "Alright, awesome. See you later then, Twilight. Heard you were doing a show here, so us and the girls will probably catch it. Later." She waved goodbye, and flew out the window. Twilight waved back, unsure what to think of the short visit... until she heard a loud bang and saw a rainbow-coloured circle expanding, Rainbow Dash speeding off in a flash. She froze mid-wave. "That was..." she managed out, but couldn't finish the sentence. Trixie noticed the hesitation, and looked out the window. "Hmm? Oh, yeah, that's one of her sonic rainbooms. Don't worry, it'll disappear in a short while. Now, as for why I called you... Twilight, is everything alright?" She asked, suddenly worried. Twilight blinked, and noticed a tear had started to fall out of her right eye. Wiping away at it, she let out a small laugh. "Ah, haha, don't worry about it. I just... ah, nevermind, it's silly." "Are you sure? If you need a break, just say the word." Trixie responded, worry deepening. Did she tear up at seeing Rainbow's rainboom? Sure, if it's your first time seeing one, it can be quite overwhelming, but not to this extent. Twilight was silent for a while, hoof tapping softly on the table, until she spoke up. "Say, Trixie, do you remember why I signed up for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?" She asked, unsure. This caught Trixie off guard for a bit. "Eh, what do... Celestia's Summer Sun Celebration, right? You saw her raise the sun, so you wanted to study under her? Until..." "Until I failed the test, yes." Twilight continued, a sad smile on her face. Trixie did not like seeing that. "I was... inconsolable, after that. For a short while, at least. I was so amazed when she raised that sun, in disbelief at seeing such, how should I say it, brilliance? I studied so, so hard for that test, for a chance to learn from her, this shining pony, and yet... the one time it mattered, I failed. I even managed to take it two days earlier than planned." Taking a gulp, Trixie softly asked, 'But you picked yourself up, right? You enrolled at Canterlot junior high, met me when we were visiting the library for the same book, and we became fast friends after that. I'm not sure where... oh, wait, is this about that weird rainbow you saw? The one that inspired you to stop worrying about your failed test?" She finished, slowly realizing where this was going. "Yeah, that one. Two days after I failed that test, I still remember it cleary, I was walking outside with my parents who were trying to cheer me up, still depressed at my failure, until that happened. A giant, bright expanding circle of rainbow colours, lighting up the entire sky." "Rainbow's first rainboom?" Trixie whispered, more in disbelief to herself than anything. "Was it her first?" Twilight replied, making Trixie look up. "Well, once I saw that grand ring, I was perhaps even more amazed than when I saw Princes Celestia, and I instinctively knew this wasn't something the Princess could do, and that's when I realized it." She looked up, the tears fully gone now, a smile back on her face. "Equestria is so much bigger than Princess Celestia... no, this whole world is much, much bigger than that. And perhaps a lot more amazing than that. And I wanted to see it all. And, and, and... well, after all those years. I finally know what started it all so long ago." Twilight looked down again, and noticed the stares everypony and dragon was giving her, making her blush. "See, it told you it was silly..." Everyone was silent for a short while, not knowing how to respond to any of this, until Trixie started to chuckle, before breaking out in a full laughter. All eyes turned to her. Taking a moment to compose herself, she simply said, "Of course it did that. Of course it... haah, ahaha, of course, what else would it have been. Twilight, remember when I wrote you how me and the other girls got their cutiemarks?" Twilight tilted her head, not sure what Trixie expected here. "You got yours at your own test, when your magic suddenly spiralled out of control? When you hatched Spike, I mean." "Yeah, yeah, but the date, Twilight! It was two days after you took your test!" Trixie said, waiting for Twilight to realize the truth. "Two days after I..." Her eyes opened wide. "Wait, no... the rainboom? THAT was when you got it?" Twilight gasped. And then she laughed too. And Trixie joined her. Flim, Flam and Spike were just looking at each other in the meantime, unsure what to make of any of this. Calming down, Twilight spoke up first. "You know, I never really gave it any thought before, but fate might actually be real." Trixie laughed again, nodding. "Yeah, I understand that. Wow, that was a revelation and a half." Flim suddenly spoke up, surprising the two mares. "Miss, I hate to bother you, but it's getting quite late, and I don't think we still quite know why we came here in the first place. The crew is probably getting anxious right now, so..." "Ah, right. So, putting all that aside for a moment, why did you call me here in the first place, Trixie? You wrote about a spell or something?" Twilight asked, recalling the letter she read just a week ago. But Trixie shook her head. "It can wait, if you're staying in town for a while. Basically, Celestia sent over the last of Starswirl's spellbooks, with an unfinished spell on the very last page, and she asked me to look into it. I collected a lot of potential material on it, but I'm stuck in a sore spot, so I needed some outside help." "Starswirl?" Twilight eyes lit up. "Ooh, sound interesting. Did you cast it to see what it does? That's probably the first thing I would have done." Trixie raised her eyebrow. "What, no, of course not. This is Starswirl's potentially final spell we're talking about! Who knows what kind of destruction it might be capable off, so I am not just casting it without proper safeguards. But anyway, like Flim said, it is indeed getting quite late, so can look it over tomorrow, alright?" Twilight seemed anxious to see some of Starswirl's work, but she relented. "I... alright, tomorrow. We'll be taking our leave then." And with that, Twilight began to stand up, Flim and Flam following suit. As they walked to the door, Spike bumped Trixie with her tail again. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he whispered. Oh right, Celestia's letter. "Ah, Twi, one more thing before you leave." Trixie called out, opening the bottom drawer of the shelf and levitating the letter in it out. Twilight turned around, curious. "Here, it's a letter from Princess Celestia, to you." Trixie said, handing the enveloppe with the bright golden seal over. Taken aback by the sudden mail, from a princess no less, Twilight shakily took the letter, opened the seal and began to read. Flim and Flam started to sweat once they heard it came from Celestia herself. "Uh, we aren't in any trouble or anything, right? We made sure to right all the wrongs we did under miss Twilight's guidance, so unless we have forgotten something..." Trixie shook her head, letting Twilight continue to read. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that. You see, a few days ago, a large group of zebra diplomats arrived in Canterlot, and one of the things they eagerly talked about with the princesses was how good your show was, to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's surprise. So, knowing I already invited Twilight over to look into that spell, Princess Celestia send me a letter yesterday, to be delivered to Twilight directly, though I already know what's in it. I think you guys, and the Troupe especially, will be very happy with it." Just as Trixie finished, so did Twilight reading the letter. She seemed to be frozen in place. Flim and Flam, realizing what might have been in it, slowly began to dread the next few moments. "Uh, miss... would you mind telling us what the Princess wrote?" Flim asked, fear in his eyes. "Miss, are you okay? Did they write that they..." Flam tried to ask, but couldn't finish the sentence, already knowing the answer. "The-the... the princesses.... want to visit a show?" Twilight managed to stammer out, eventually. Trixie nodded, glad to see that Twilight seems to be excited about it. Spike doesn't seem to be as sure about it. Standing next to hear, he stood on his toes and whispered in her ear. "Trix, isn't this going to be a... you know." Trixie looked at him weirdly, wondering what he meant with... Oh. Oh no. How did she forget about that. Snapping her gaze towards Flim and Flam, she saw that they were trembling as well. Taking a step forward, she finally managed to look at Twilight, and realised she was muttering things under her breath. So she took another step forward. And another, and another, until she stood in front of the shivering mare, letter still clutched in her hoofs. She looks so small, so... vulnerable. Even if she was one of the most talented unicorns in all of the land, a grand-level caster and successful business-pony, running her own travelling show and all that, Twilight Sparkle still had one fatal flaw. And I forgot about it. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Twilight Sparkle did not handle the possibility of disappointing those around her well, if at all. And if she were to consider disappointing one of the princesses themselves, well... Trixie took her into a hug again, even stronger than the one they had when Twilight nearly tackled her earlier. Just let it all out, I'm here, I'll always be here. And so Trixie endured the infamous 'Twilight freak-out', never letting go, even until the very end. Author's Note Damn you poor time management, damn youuuuu. So yeah, finished this at about 11pm my timezone, 3 more hours till deadline, and need to wake up in about 5 hours to go to work, so apologies for any mistakes in advance. ok I'm out this took way too long but I enjoyed it all the same byeeeee edit: Okay, finally had some free time to look this over, most of the errors should be fixed now. Feel free to point any out if you still see them, though.
