Entertainers

To Trixie’s surprise, the video Pinkie sent her was shockingly digestible. Were she to take a quest on the fnaf lore, she’d confidently get a solid B.

That being said, it didn’t ease her worries of entertaining a bunch of children. It’s not that she lacked the ability per se, more the confidence. Not that she’d ever admit it; being focused was a much bigger concern.

Every few minutes, she’d find herself checking her phone regardless of getting a notification or not. Most of the time, it was some guy she barely remembered giving her snapchat to sending a ‘wyd’ text. That, or one of her friends that communicates exclusively in memes and gifs.

Never once was it from the person she actually wanted it to be.

Trixie closed her car door, making her way to the pizzeria arcade with a vaguely reptilian mascot and the words ‘Lizard Larry’s Luxurious Funhouse’.

“What a mouthful of a name.”

She reached into her purse, triple checking that everything was in its place; including her notepad with highlights from the video in case she needed to refresh herself on specific details.

“Oh, Trixie, you made it! Yay.”

Pinkie hugged her as soon as she entered, wearing a frilly yellow dress that looked like something straight out of the medieval age; she was even wearing a crown.

“Yes, Trixie is capable of following basic directions; hooray! Are you,” Trixie found her eyes stuck on Pinkie’s hair, which was now straight except for the ends on both sides that were curled upward. “The girl from Princess Quest?”

Pinkie squealed, somehow louder than the kids that were running around wearing various animal masks.

“Oh my gosh, you did watch the video!” She brought her hands to her chest, bouncing on her heels with impressive ease. “I thought you would have shrugged it off and watched one of those ‘fnaf explained in five minutes’ videos or something.”

“Please, Trixie is nothing if not properly prepared. That being said, was Trixie supposed to dress up as one of the characters? She supposes she could have scrounged together something to resemble Circus Baby; though ponytails are not Trixie’s best look.”

“No, no. I just did this as a deal with Dave, the birthday boy. He agreed to be less of a dick if I cosplayed as her. And, I also just love any excuse to wear a dress!” Pinkie spun in a circle, her skirt waving back and forth to an invisible wind. “Pretty, right?”
Trixie looked Pinkie over, tilting her head and squinting her eyes.

“Eh, yellow isn’t your color.”

Pinkie’s smile wavered, though Trixie didn’t seem to notice. She scanned the room, noting all the ways it’d been fnafafied. Every table was covered in checkered sheets with the mascots on them, same could be said for the plates and utensils. Really, except for the animatronics themselves, the place could pass for an actual five nights at freddy’s attraction.

“So, what is Trixie to do? She has brought her entire performance kit.”

“Oh! The kids are expecting your magic showing in about an hour or so. Feel free to do whatever you like!”

Another string of children ran past Trixie, not paying her any mind as they headed towards the arcade. In fact, as she looked around, she noticed a complete lack of adults aside from themselves and a handful of employees.

“Where are the parents?”

“At work or relaxing; I get paid extra for babysitting them too.”

“Wait, you get paid for this? Trixie thought you did this for fun?”

“I do! It’s both.” Pinkie started collecting the plates on a nearby table, cleaning it faster than Trixie’s seen some waitresses. “I have a pretty good reputation when it comes to kids parties; they trust me as much as they would with a daycare. If you like, since you’re helping me out today, I can split my pay with you?”

“That’s kind of you, but Trixie will have to refuse. She doesn’t have money issues, per se. Let’s just imply that her college expenses are…” Her phone buzzed, the name ‘JackPot’ hovering on the screen. She grimaced, clicking the decline button and holding the power button until it went to black. “More than paid for. Regardless, it shouldn’t take Trixie more than thirty minutes to set things up properly. Though, things would go much more swiftly were she to have an assistant.”

“Ohhhh! Pick me, pick me!” Pinkie jumped up and down, waving her hands like she just didn’t care. “I’ve always wanted to be a magician’s assistant! Though, I left my body suit and ostrich feather-headdress at home.”

“You have a body suit and ostrich feather-headdress at home?”

“Trixie, I’m a party girl.” Pinkie stated with a hand to her chest, puffing it out in a declaration of pride. “I have clothing for every occasion.”

“Yes, well, what you’re wearing now should do. A good assistant is not defined by their dress wear; though it does help.”

“Yay!”

She grabbed Trixie, embracing her in another hug. This one wasn’t nearly as intimate as the morning prior, but it was sincere, and soft. A warmth ran up to her cheeks at the contact, the image of Starlight popping in her head.

It was pleasant, for only a moment. Then came down the reality, and the weight that carried with it.

Trixie struggled her way out of Pinkie’s iron clasp, stepping backwards and spinning with her cape like there was air blowing.

“D—do not celebrate quite yet, my apprentice. This may prove to be a more trying endeavor then you may expect. Come, help me set things up and then I will tell you of the magic we will enlighten others to tonight.”

Trixiie placed her hands on her face, rubbing her cheeks until the heat went away.

The stage was set.

The children were in their seats.

And magic was in the air.

The curtains were down, and Trixie waited for her beloved assistant to give it her calling.

“And now, with an entrance so flashy Wally West is jealous, The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Trixie pushed the curtains aside, running out to the front of the stage and opening her cape; the glitter and rhinestones that lined the inside made it sparkle light the stars of the night sky.

“Greetings, children! I am your sommelier of illusion, connoisseur of magic; and proficient in all things showmanship!”

There was a moment of terse silence, all the children staring at either Trixie or each other.

“She means she’s going to do some really cool magical tricks and spells!”

With Trixie’s clarification, many of the children’s eyes lit up, some of them even began to clap. Anxiety creeped up to Trixie’s heart, but every sound of applause made it recede like a monster to a torch.

She allowed her smile to stretch just a few more inches, the slightest bit of genuineness in it.

“Thank you, thank you!” Trixie bowed, tossing her hat in the air and catching it in her offhand. “Now then, the easiest trick to start with would be making something appear from nothing. I could, of course, pull a rabbit out of a hat. But isn’t that a tad cliche? After all, isn’t there something people like just a bit more than a bunny? Like,” she reached into the hat, pulling out a golden retriever that was barely bigger than her head. “Puppies!”

The children went wild, some of them bursting out of their seats to pet the pupper. Trixie was a lot of things, but she wasn’t one to deprive a child the sheer joy of affection. She lowered herself to the end of the stage, holding the puppy in both of her hands and extending them. It was soon swarmed with hands, petting every inch of fur it had.

She could feel its heart beating rapidly, the warmth of its soft complimentary to the energy in the room.

“Oh, what’s this? It seems this hat is a little larger than meets the eye! It seems to be brimming with…” She reached into the hat, going so deep it went up to her shoulder which shouldn’t have been possible, and then pulled it out with a popping sound. “Candy!”

Dozens of wrapped up candy, anything from tootsie rolls to peppermints, spreading across the crowd and landing on tables or in the hands of children with absurd accuracy.

If possible, the kids got even more rambunctious.

Trixie leaned over to Pinkie, holding her smile and whispering through clenched teeth.

“How did you do that? I never even saw you touch my hat.”

Pinkie chuckled, giving Trixie a wink.

“A magician never reveals her secrets, right?”

“Oh ho!” Trixie laughed, bumping shoulders with Pinkie. “Ye be a usurper for the title of Great and Powerful?”

“Not at all.” Pinkie hip-checked her in response. “I strive to only be the best assistant; second place has always suited me well.”

Her voice had its typical pep to it, but something was missing underneath. The lack of enthusiasm in her words, the way the corners of her smile wavered or the skin around her eyes bunched.

It was painful.

“Then, as the top and up and comer,” Trixie grabbed Pinkie’s hand, raising it along with hers. “Let’s give these children the best show they’ve ever seen!”

Pinkie’s grip was soft at first, not soft like last night; soft like having no energy. She couldn’t meet Trixie’s gaze, turning away and hiding most of her face. Just vaguely, Trixie heard Pinkie mutter something under her breath, bringing her free hand to her face and lightly tapped her cheeks.

“You’re right,” Pinkie’s eyes sparkled, her face blooming like the most gorgeous flower Trixie’s ever seen. “We have to do it to’em. And I know just the way to spice things up.”

She leaned over, whispering something into Trixies ear.

“Really? You want to do it so soon?”

“Trust me, they’ll love it!”

Trixie considered it for a moment, peering over the ocean of offspring before her; chewing at the bit for her next mirage.

“Hmm, if you insist. Keep the crowd entertained while I fetch the box; this shall be a birthday finale of the ages.”

There were a few groans and sighs as she pulled away the puppy, holding it to her chest and tracing its ears with her fingers. She placed it in the pen, letting it drink from its bowl and chew on the toy bone she got for it.

The name ‘Lance Barkton’ on the front of his collar.

A few moments later, Trixie pushed a large, box-shaped object on wheels to the center of the stage. At first glance, many would have mistaken it for a printer; they’d be a little right.

If only it weren’t for the crank on the side.

And the giant tub attached to the back.

“Now then, for our second and final act, I’m going to print my very own Pinkie Pie!”

Pinke began to place herself in the tub, lifting her dress and placing them over the edges of the tub like petals.

“This device is known as The Mangle Box! Though, unlike the one you’re familiar with, this variant keeps them in one piece. That being said,” Trixie placed a hand on the crank, and with Pinkie descended into the tub, waving at the children with a beam that someone could see their reflection in. “Perhaps that’d be preferable to the fate that’s bestowed to Pinkie on this night.”

The smiles and laughter of the children turned to frowns and gasp, unable to do anything but watch.

Before they knew it, Pinkie’s face had fallen into the box of doom, every bit of her dress sunken into the abyss of blades. Printed out onto some sort of material that was somewhere between paper and cardboard, all with her smile as wide as it's ever been.

“Wonderful, it came out with everything in place. All that’s left is to give it a home. Who would like to adopt this beauty?”

None of the children responded, dejection and defeat in the air like pollen. Then, a single puff of pink hair poked out from the crowd; bouncing with every step.

“Oh, I do I do!”

Heads spun, gasps followed one after another, and the sobbing turned to cheers.

Pinkie Pie approached from the back of the room, swerving between the tables with the ease and swiftness of a derby skater. She hopped on the stage, taking the print of herself and stretching it in front of her.

“Oh yeesh, you’re right. Yellow is not my color!” She began to fold it until it was the size of a post-it note, raising the skirt of her dress and placing it in the pockets of her pants underneath. “Which leads me to the next and final trick!”

“Next trick?” Trixie repeated, forgetting to lower her voice as her arms fell to her chest. Her eyes darted to Pinkie’s, just as quickly shifting back to the children as she cleared her throat. “Of course, next trick!”

“The classic!” Pinkie placed a hand on her stomach, tightly gripping her dress and giving it one heartful tug. No ripping or tearing, coming off with an ease so impressive Trixie herself was briefly in awe. “Switching outfits in an instant!”

In the blink of an eye, Pinkie was wearing the body suit she mentioned earlier. A red corset around her waist, paired with a black skirt and white leggings that matched the long gloves on her arms. Even her shoulders and chest were covered with a bright blue fabric that didn’t match the rest of the dress; the wig having been tossed behind her and replaced with a comically large ostrich headdress.

“Wow! You’re so pretty, Miss Pie!”

“Yeah! You look just like Circus Baby!”

“Oh my gosh!” Pinkie placed her hands on the sides of her face, dropping her jaw in an animated manner and reminded Trixie of a painting she saw when she was younger. “I should have gone as Circus Baby! Welp, I know what’s keeping me up tonight.”

Trixie placed a hand over her mouth, suppressing a laugh as she moved closer to Pinkie. She wrapped her arm around Pinkie’s hips, pressing closer to her.

They looked into each other's eyes, and bowed.

“Trixie is not a fan of the cleaning up part!”

After the parents came to pick up the children, Pinkie and Trixie were cleaning up. Most of the staff were in the kitchen shutting things down and getting things ready for closing.

“But Trixie, aftercare’s great! Sometimes, it's just as good!”

Trixie paused what she was doing, swallowing the heat in her mouth and stacking up the plates. She found herself surprised that it was much cleaner than she expected, maybe children weren’t as messy at parties as they used to be?

“R—remind Trixie why we are doing the clean-up? She does not recall being hired here.”

“Oh! That’s because I have a deal with every place I throw parties for: I help with whatever mess that was made and I get my back of leftover food!”

“Wait, so, let Trixie understand this correctly.” She placed the final cup, grabbing one of the napkins and using it to wipe your hands. “You get paid for both the parties and the babysitting, as well as being provided free food?”

“Yep!” Pinkie spun with stacks of plates in both hands, facing Trixie without so much as a wobble. “I love it!”

“Then, why even go to college?”

“To keep up with the girls, and for the experience, obviously! College is like, party central. Not to mention I love meeting new people, and what better time than now!”

“You’re going to college for the experience? That sounds expensive, how can you afford it?”

Pinkie paused as she placed the pile of plates on the window to the kitchen, keeping her grip on the bottom of the stacks with her back facing Trixie.

She stayed silent. It might have been her imagination, but Trixie could have sworn she saw Pinkie’s knees trembling.

“I saved up for a while is all! I’ve been working at Sugarcube Corner since I was little.”

Trixie grew still, watching Pinkie as she walked back to one of the only tables they hadn’t gotten to yet. Tilting her head and looking anywhere but at Trixie.

“I see.” She decided not to pry any further. Pinkie had already done far too much for her to deserve that. “How do you have the free-time to party so much, Pinkie? You sound so busy.”

“That’s easy. I’m very organized! I actually used to be super bad at it, until Twilight sat me down and taught me how to allocate time properly and chunk it out. Since then, everythings been chunked and I do different stuff on different days. Actually, now it’d feel weird to just do stuff when I feel like it.”

Before Trixie could say a word more, one of the employees rang the bell at the window.

“Pinkie, come pick what doesn’t get thrown out.”

“Yipee!”

Pinkie zoomed into the castle door, leaving Trixie alone with only the paraphernalia of a fnaf themed party. Try as she might, she couldn’t find a single thing out of place. Pinkie really was meticulous.

Trixie stopped in front of one of the posters, which had all four of the animatronics on it. The tips of her fingers tickled, a mischievous urge poking her lips as she tried to suppress a smile. She glanced over her shoulders, double checking that she was alone.

She stood on the tips of her toes, pressing her finger against the end of Freddy’s nose.

“Boop.”

There was, to her dismay, no squeaking noise.

“Ok, I hope you like smore pizza as much as I do!”

Trixie spun to face her, hiding her hands behind her back and taking a large, obvious step away from it to the nearest table and sitting down.

“...Smore pizza?”

Pinkie sat across from her, opening the box placing a plate on both sides of the table.

“Smore Pizza!”

Trixie picked up a slice, trying to decide between curiosity and disgust. It was certainly shaped like pizza, though it was covered in marshmallows and parts of chocolate bars, sprinkled with some sort of chocolate sauce.

As much as she’d love to say it’s the worst thing she’s eaten, it wasn’t anywhere close.

“It’s certainly,” she chewed slowly, the taste conflicting with the texture in a way that left her undecided whether to swallow it or not. “The chewiest pizza I’ve had.”

“It’s an acquired taste. Helps that I have a whole set of sweet teeth.”

Pinkie ended up eating several pieces in the time it took Trixie to eat two, splattering crumbs and bits of chocolate sauce on her face.

“Pinkie, have you thought about entering an eating contest?”

“All the time!” she wiped her face, closing the box and moving it over to the side of the table. “I’m scared to, though. I’m sure I’d be good at it, I’m just worried that when you do anything competitive you stop enjoying it. If I did that with eating, that’d be awful.”

“Hmmm,” Trixie turned on her phone, immediately receiving several notifications, most of which were from ‘JackPot.’

That was one thing she didn’t need to ruin her day.

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“Mhm! So, how was your day? Get a lot done? You know, aside from catching up on fnaf lore.”

Trixie couldn’t help but stare at her phone screen, scrolling through her notifications and hoping to see something other than her dad trying to get into contact with her or some random guy trying to get read.

Hopefully, something, anything, from Starlight.

“Trixie?”

“Ah!”

Pinkie had leaned over, getting incredibly close to Trixie without touching her. She nearly jumped out of her seat, dropping her phone to the ground and having to pick it up.

“You spaced out there for a sec.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. This has not been m—” she pursed her lips. “Trixie’s best week.”

Pinkie placed her chin on her hand, her smile shrinking from an open mouth to a small smirk, leaning back in her chair.

“I’ve noticed.”

She felt like she was stabbed in the chest.

Trixie placed a hand where her heart was, tracing it with her finger with no real symbol in mind.

“Trixie’s sorry.”

Pinkie tilted her head.

“For what?”

“For lying to you. When she said that she was upset about people losing interest in magic, that wasn’t the truth. Well,” her hand clenched, running up her collarbone and staying there as she gripped her own shoulder. “Not the entire truth.”

“Oh.” Pinkie’s mouth curled into an ‘o’, her chair creaking as she pulled it into the table. “I already knew that, silly.”

“What?” Trixie moved in her seat, shifting forward in her seat. “You knew?”

“I’m not easy to lie to, especially not by someone drunk off their ass.”

Pinkie winked, sticking her tongue out of her mouth.

“Then…why did you help Trixie?”

“Cuz you’re my friend, sis.” She stood up. “What do you want to drink?”

“Um,” Trixie had to take a moment to answer, recovering from the mental whiplash. “Sprite please.”

Trixie watched her walk to the drink machine, getting two clean cups and filling one with sprite and the other with dr pepper. She came back with two straws, placing the cup in front of her and the straw beside it.

“You know, and yet, you never asked?”

“I never ask.” Pinkie placed her straw in the drink, sipping until only half of it was left. “If you want to talk about it, you’ll talk about it. It’s rude to put someone on the spot by asking like that.”

“So you don’t want to know?”

“I didn’t say that.” She put the straw between her fingers, spinning it in a circle until the drink looked like the waves of an ocean. “I’m very nosy, just polite.”

Trixie hummed, tapping the tips of her fingernails against the plastic.

“Trixie has heard that talking about it can often make carrying them easier. If she were to tell you,” She closed her eyes, taking in the dull scent of the room and the way the lukewarm air made the heat in her body just a little worse. “You would keep it to yourself?”

“Without a doubt. All tea spilled to the wrong person does is burn you.”

“Is that…” Trixie’s face scrunched. “Did you just quote tumblr?”

“Half of the things I saw are taken from Tumblr.” she nonchalantly took another sip. “The other half is from twitter.”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

“That’s what makes me mysterious.”

Trixie sighed, making no effort to hide the grin that snuck its way on her lips.

Though, like a picture, it only lasted a moment.

“Her name is Starlight Glimmer. She was the love of my life.”

Pinkie paused, squeezing the straw in between her fingers just a nudge tighter. Her smile wasn’t gone, but the rest of her had grown more tense.

“We met in a sociology course I had to take, and we ended up clicking. We were together for a year, and…well, I won’t bore you with the details.”

The sprite burned her throat like cold lava, she rubbed it with her free hand to try make it more tolerable.

“You wouldn’t bore me.”

“Even so, we would be here for hours. Trixie may not have anything better to do, but certainly you do.”

Pinkie shrugged.

“Nothing more important than making time for my friends.”

Trixie couldn’t help but laugh, as hollow as it sounded.

“You’re too charming for your own good.”

“I try. I’ve rizzed up a few maidens in my days.”

Trixie choked, nearly tipping over the drink.

“Please don’t ever say that again.”

Pinkie laughed, eventually devolving into snorting as she held her sides.

“Oh, I forgot about this thing. Keep going, I’m just going to take this off.”

She started undoing her corset, taking off her ostrich headdress and setting it on the ground beside her.

“We…we had a big fight last weekend. She told me that I was too needy sometimes, that I couldn’t let her live her life or have friends that weren’t me. That I was,” the corner of her eyes stung. Trixie sucked air through her teeth, rubbing her eyes the way a toddler would when they were sleepy. “Too much. She said she needed time and space to focus on her education and find herself, and I just…she couldn’t do that with me.”

There was no sound, not even rustling as Pinkie took off the corset. She didn’t sip her drink, she didn’t tap her fingers against the glass.

And she didn’t stop smiling.

“Aren’t you,” Trixie swallowed, gripping the cup so tightly her knuckles were pale. She wasn’t sure if she could let go if she wanted to. “Going to tell how i could make things right? That i should talk to her?”

Pinkie just shook her head.

“That’s not what you want, is it?”

Trixie didn’t respond, arching her back and resting her head on her arms. The bubbles in the drink fizzed up, reached the surface and popped. She found herself counting each one.

“Maybe I could tell you how you would have handled things better, or that its not your fault, or something else reassuring. I’ve done that plenty of time; sometimes it helps a little. But, really, aren't those all things you’ve already told yourself?”

Trixie had nothing to say to that.

“I’m here to help people get back up from falling down, not tell them how they could have avoided falling down in the first place.”

“...so nice.”

Pinkie’s ears flickered.

“What was that?’

“Why are you so nice?”

“I’m not that nice. I can be a real bitch when I want to be.”

“Heh, I’d love to see that.”

“No you wouldn’t, trust me.”

There was a serious tone to Pinkie’s words, almost like a threat. It was cold, made more chilling by the contrast to how warm her words usually were.

It reminded her of something else Pinkie said to her, as hazy as that night's memories were.

“Is that what you meant when you said ‘you won’t be used like that again?’. Were you too nice to someone?”

Pinkie stopped all movement, turning into a statue as her shoulders dropped. For once, she was the one to drop eye contact.

Trixie was starting to regret it bringing that up.

As much as she wanted to apologize, there was this weight in her throat that prevented in words from leaving; maybe she’d opened her mouth enough.

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

Pinkie still didn’t look at her, but her voice was as distinct as always.

“Uhm,” Trixie raised her head, staring at a spot on the table and spinning the half-empty glass in the palm of her hand. “It’s Saturday, so not really anything.”

“Good.” Pinkie drank her half-full glass, consuming the remaining dr pepper in moments. “Would you like to come over to my dorm tomorrow?”

“Huh.”

She met Trixie’s gaze, though her eyes were half-closed and there was a tightness to her face. Pinkie was gripping the edges of the table, scooting the chair in so close it pushed against her chest.

“My dormmates go home on weekends, so I have the place to myself. You can sleepover at my place, if you like.”

“...Why do you want me to come over?”

“Because,”

Pinkie’s hair didn’t seem as springy as usual.

She blew out hot air, letting go of the table and placing her hands on the table.

“I don’t want to be alone either.”

Trixie stared at Pinkie’s hand, held in a fist.

Without thinking, she placed her own hand on top, as carefully as she could.

“Alright.”

She raised her head, taking in a shaky breath before smiling.

“Yay.”

This ‘yay’ was much softer than usual, but maybe that's what made it special.