Just outside of Ponyville’s Town Square, Starlight Glimmer carried a few boxes to a caravan parked nearby. “This the last of them?”

Trixie popped her head out of the caravan’s window, looked into the boxes, then nodded approvingly. “Yep! That should be good! There’s enough in there to last at least a few weeks.”

“Is that all you need?” Starlight looked at the pile of cardboard boxes stacked just outside the caravan. “You don’t want to grab anything else?”

“Nope, that should be everything Trixie needs before she sets off! Thanks for helping me pack, Starlight!” She jumped out of the caravan, picking up a few of the boxes with her magic to put inside.

“No problem, but you still never told me exactly where you were going, you know…” Starlight said, helping her friend move the rest of the boxes.

“Trixie is embarking on a journey, Starlight,” Trixie spread her hooves out with grandiose gestures. “One of personal discovery and growth, a long and winding road where at the end, she will emerge a greater and more powerful pony.”

“...Uh-huh.”

Trixie’s hooves fell down flat to her sides. “...I’m taking a vacation to go around Equestria as a tourist instead of a performer, Starlight. Gonna get some sweet, peaceful alone time on the road.”

“Well if you’re going sightseeing, why are we packing your caravan with so much food?”

“It’s a very long walk between cities, Starlight, it’s tiring, travelling for hours on end.” she explained, taking out a few boxes that were already inside to reorganize. “Plus, Ponyville’s food is a lot more affordable compared to other cities like Manehattan or Las Pegasus. It’s not all just for the trip.”

Starlight tilted her head, watching Trixie shove boxes back into her cramped shelves. “You should’ve told me that it was a vacation sooner! I would’ve loved to go around Equestria with you!”

Trixie’s eyes quickly darted from side to side. “Er...Trixie kinda had been planning on a relaxing solo trip for a while, she didn’t know if you were gonna be busy or not.”

“Well yeah, but you know I can always set aside time for you, Trix.”

“As lovely a sentiment as that is, Trixie’s not sure we’d all be able to fit in the caravan with all the food...Besides! The students need you for advice and stuff! That or stress relief during finals week,” she said with a wink.

“Heh, I guess that’s true…” Starlight chuckled.

Trixie managed to shove rest of the boxes of food inside. “Trixie’ll be back before the end of the month. We’ll have plenty of time to hang out before then, okay?”

“Sounds good!” Starlight looked over towards Twilight’s castle. “Are all those fireworks you made gonna be fine over at Twilight’s? I feel like leaving them out in the open like that is-”

“Dangerous?” Trixie smirked. “There’s nothing to worry about, Starlight. Twilight helped with the enchanting process. There’s no fuse to light, so the only one that can set off a firework is the one it’s designated towards.”

“If you say so…” Starlight looked over and saw one last box to the side. Unlike the ones Trixie was packing in, this one was clearly more worn out. “Hey, what about this box over here?” she asked, lifting it up with her magic.

“Wait, don’t touch that-!” Trixie’s horn lit up, trying to pull the box towards her.

The two opposing magic forces quickly ripped the weaker box apart, and an obscene amount of dildos tumbled out onto the ground. There were horsecock molds of varying sizes, though most of them fell in the larger range. Some had suction cups at the end, some doubled as vibrators, some had a little fluid tank to simulate orgasm, some were molds of other species like dragons and gryphons.

For an entire minute, the two stared in silence for what felt like the most uncomfortable hour of their lives.

“...”

“...Okay listen-”

“Trix…”

“Oh please, Trixie wasn’t going to use these on the trip!” Trixie scoffed. “It’s like you don’t even trust her at all!”

“Yeah, I’m just gonna take these off your hooves then to save you some space…” Starlight said, gathering up the dildos with her magic.

Trixie’s own magic aura took hold of half the pile, trying to wrestle them away. “Oh, so you can have them all to yourself for the month? I don’t think so, sister!”

Meanwhile, at the changeling kingdom, King Thorax was in the middle of dealing with one who’s very reluctant to call herself a guest.

“I see the decor hasn’t improved at all since I’ve left.”

“Right, did you come here just to insult our interior decorators, Chrysalis, or did you actually have something you wanted to say?” Thorax flatly asked, crossing his hooves.

“There’s plenty of choice words that I have for you, Thorax,” Chrysalis hissed as she stamped towards him, but stopped herself before getting too close. “But that will be for another day. I only came here to talk about the competition.”

Thorax quizzically tilted his head. “What, you’re upset that you weren’t invited this year?”

“Obviously, but that’s not the point. I wanted to make sure you intended on taking it seriously.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Just think about it, an entire competition dedicated to repressing your horniest and lustful desires for an entire month.” Chrysalis tilted her chin up in order to look down on him. “The others are already predicting that the changelings will give in faster than anyone else.”

Thorax shook his head in disbelief. “Is that what they really say about us?”

“If you bothered to listen to the voices behind your back, you’d know.”

Chrysalis walked to the left and transformed into an Abyssinian. “So, you don’t have high hopes for those changelings either, huh?” the cat said, pointing a finger at the ground towards the presumed other half of the conversation.

While transforming into an orange unicorn mare, she walked to the right. “Well, even if they don’t feed on love anymore, they’re still particularly sensitive to it. So I don’t think they’ll last long. At least, that’s what I’m gathering from what that one dragon told me…”

“No, I...there’s no way they said any of that!” Thorax said, horrified at the idea that any of his friends would speak so poorly of them.

“Feel free to believe what you want to. The fact remains that I expect you to represent the changelings well.” Chrysalis took a quick glance behind her to one of the stone fixtures. “That goes for her, too.”

“Ocellus, are you eavesdropping?” Thorax leaned to the side, trying to spot where she was from his throne.

“I-I’m sorry! I just wanted to make sure that things were gonna be okay...” Ocellus hung her head low as she emerged from her hiding spot.

“Well, at least I don’t have to waste my breath.” Chrysalis turned to face Ocellus. “You already know of the expectations I have of you. It’d be in your best interest to live up to them.” She turned her back on her and Thorax, about to make a prompt exit.

“Wait!” Thorax called out, making her pause and turn around. “You know, you’re still welcome to stay here, right?”

Chrysalis’s face softened for a moment, but she didn’t bother responding to Thorax’s offer with anything but her departure.

Author's Note

Well I'm sure she won't be important to the events in the coming future.