Entertainers

Trixie awoke to pain and the color pink.

And cotton candy in her nose. Or, at least what smelt like cotton candy. It felt much worse in her nose than cotton candy ever did.

As she blinked away the blurriness in her eyes, feeling the first tendrils of pain stretching from the back of her brain, she felt something against her chest and in her hands. It was soft, softer than any pillow or blanket or even cape.

For just a fleeting second, Trixie forgot everything, and she convinced herself that it was Starlight. Here, in her bed, cuddling her like nothing had gone horribly wrong.

She nuzzled her neck, held onto Starlights lovehandles for life itself, and got as close to her as feasibly possible.

In that moment, Trixie did exist, and it was gorgeous.

“Trixie, at least wait after our date.”

That wasn’t Starlight’s voice.

That wasn’t Starlight’s smell.

That wasn’t Starlight’s body.

Trixie’s heart started beating like a drum, shooting potent adrenaline through her system as she was fully awake.

In her panic, she pushed Pinkie over the bed, slamming her spine into the cold wall. With a thump and an ‘owie’, Trixie was once more alone on the bed, blankets sprawled out in a mess. She tried desperately to catch her breath, wincing as the headache only got worse; eyes darting back and forth as if searching her memories.

“W—why are you in Trixie’s bed?”

Pinkie slowly got to her feet, rubbing her backside and running her hands up her sides, eventually ending in a stretch as she stood on the tip of her toes.

“Because you asked me to be, silly!” Pinkie spun on the heel of her foot like a ballerina, stretching out her arms and leaning forward with impressive balance. “How much of last night do you remember?”

Trixie dangled her legs off the edge of the bed, using her hands as makeshift hair brushes to straighten out the curls in her hair. “Uhm…” It all started coming back to her: the schnapps, the Dennys, the pancakes.

The kiss.

“Bits and pieces.” Trixie lied, a soreness in her face that creeped to her teeth even though they didn’t have muscles. “What is this about a date?”

“Don’t remember that part huh? How convenient.”

Trixie couldn’t tell if that was meant to come off as accusatory, but her anxious mind could only interpret it as so.

“We’ve got a party today you agreed to.” As she said this, Pinkie’s eyes had begun to wander, and with them came steps in the direction of her gaze as it bounced between various things around Trixie’s room.

“A party?” Trixie glanced down at herself, kicking her feet as she tested for bruises. “Trixie’s not sure she’s ready for that quite ye-”

“Wow, is this your dad?” Pinkie snatched a picture frame off of Trixie’s desk, bringing it closer and farther to her face repeatedly like she was trying to bring a camera into focus on it, except it was just her eyes. “I can see where you get the…well, everything from!”

“Oh, yes, that’s daddy and I at my first magic show. It’s what sparked Trixie’s delve into great and powerfulness!”

“Oh wow, samesies! Though it was my sisters and throwing parties instead of magic.” Pinkie placed the photo back on the desk, nothing else on the desk had grabbed her interest. “It’s not a party party, it’s a kid’s birthday party. It’s fnaf themed, actually.”

“Fnaf?” With a grunt, Trixie pushed herself off her bed and onto the floor, knees wobbling as she tilted back and forth and nearly had her seven seconds of heaven with the ground. “That movie about the haunted animatronics?”

“Ohhhhh, it’s way more than that.” The enthusiasm dripped from Pinkie’s voice just a degree more intense than usual. “Trixie, tell me you’re caught up on the lore.”

Trixie looked over what she was wearing; a purple blouse patterned with moons and wands, paired with black leggings that sparkled with layers of glitters she’d put there herself.

“No, Trixie can not say she is.” Without an iota of hesitation, Trixie began taking off her clothes, heading towards her wardrobe and opening it as she began to shift through her catalogue of costumes. “It has caught her interest a few times, but every time she’s tried to look into it the different theories and conflicting details exhaust her. She fears it would take days to sort everything out, of which Trixie has far better things she could be doing.”

Pinkie didn’t even bat an eye at the half naked Trixie, her pupils never trailing farther down than head level. Instead, she stood on one leg and leaned over, peering into the depths of Trixie’s fashion sense.

“Oh wow, you don’t have this organized at all, do you?”

“Not true! Trixie knows exactly where everything is; she has a system. It’s just,” She reached in at seemingly random, pulling out a skirt that reached to her knees. “Not a system known to any other but Trixie.”

“Ah, valid. Anyway, that might be a problem since the kid is Micro Chip’s brother, and he is an absolute know-it-all with fnaf stuff.”

“One of those? Trixie understands. Though, she must admit that she’s surprised a child like that has enough friends to throw a party with.”

For her top, Trixie selected something more modest; a short sleeved button up with an undershirt that covered what the top shirt didn’t.

“Hehe, see, that’s uh,” Pinkie poked the tips of her fingers against each other, her chin dropping to her chest. “Kinda why Chips asked me to host his brother's party. No kid says no to a Pinkie party, no matter how much of a prick the kid the parties for. He’s hoping he’ll make at least one friend.”

“Ah, so a pity party of sorts?”

Pinkie flinched, her half-smirk dropping like a glass cup into a scowl; an expression Trixie wasn’t sure she’d ever seen on Pinkie’s face before. “Don’t call it that.”

Trixie’s blood stopped pumping in her veins, her very heart didn’t beat. It was very possibly the longest second of her life.

And as quick as it happened, it was gone. “Anyway, I have just the video for you. Do you have two hours free before the party? It starts at five, I can send you the address and stuff later.”

Trixie’s throat was dry, she was clutching the shirt in her hands so tightly her nails nearly stabbed through the fabric.

“Y—yes.”

“Awesome! Watch this when you get a chance then. It should tell you all the important stuff.”

There was a ding on her phone as Pinkie sent her a message. She slipped on the rest of her clothes, typing in her password. She was just about to open it, before seeing the notification that was below it.

Starlight had sent her a message.

It was sometime around six am; she always liked getting an early start to her day.

The message was right there, she could click it and know exactly what it was. That being said, it could be any number of things: an apology, a mini-essay, a final goodbye. The longer she stared at it, the more possibilities sprouted in her mind like weeds to a garden.

She wasn’t sure whether to feel dread, excitement, or some conglomeration of the two.

“Trixie? You aight?”

Pinkie leaned over, peeking at Trixie’s phone. In a fright, she threw the phone across her shoulder, hearing it hit the wall and then, presumably, on her bed. There wasn’t a cracking sound, at least.

She hoped.

“Yeah, sorry. Just,” she finished the buttons, putting on the second shirt and making sure the sleeves didn’t get crinkled. “Someone sent me a jumpscare meme, sorry.”

If Pinkie noticed the switch from first to third person, she didn’t say anything about it. Instead making a droning noise to herself and taking a few steps back.

“Well, alrighty then! I’ll let you get to it, I’ve got an RA meeting to get to, some private tutoring, an exam; an average friday!” Pinkie made her way to the door, slipping on the Bluey crocks she came in. “But don’t be a stranger, text me if you need anything! I always make time for my girlfriends.”

“I’m…” Trixie trailed off, placing a hand on her chest. She shook her head, stopping the train of thought before it got too far along the rails. “Of course. Trixie would be happy to bestow her attention upon you should she need it.”

With the shutting of the door, Trixie was alone again. The same way she was when she got drunk.

The same way she had been for the past few days.

Her chest felt heavy, and not the way she always guessed Fluttershy’s must have been.

“What a fucking start to a day.”

Trixie closed her wardrobe, making her way to the bed with steps that got slower by the count.

She picked up the phone, letting out a sigh of relief that it wasn’t broken in any way, and opened Pinkie’s message first.

Her little bitmoji hovered in the chat, a smile abnormally wide and yet still not as big as Pinkie’s real smile.

The title of the video she sent was ‘We solved fnaf and we’re Not Kidding.’ And it was, in fact, two hours.

“Well, at least she’s considerate.”

She saved the video for later, intending to watch it when she could find a menial task to keep her hands busy while it stayed in the background.

Which left the message she was dreading.

Out of fear, or maybe to put it off for a few seconds longer, she clicked on Starlight’s profile, checking to see if she’d been removed. Her name ‘GlimGlam1280’ still showed up with the little green icon beside it, so there as that.

Trixie found herself holding her breath, thumb hovering just single inch above the screen. Eventually, she forced herself to open the message, revealing a single sentence waiting for her.

Tell me when you’re about to leave your dorm, I’ll head over after and get my stuff and leave my key.’

She lost her grip on the phone as it slipped out of her hand, bouncing off the edge of the bed and right onto the floor.

The dryness in her throat was gone, replaced by some thick blob crawling its way up her throat. Familiar, warm tears began streaming down her face. First one drop, then so many like the start of a storm.

At least her hangover didn’t seem as bad in comparison.