The next day came like the ones before. As much as Surprise wanted to stay with her new friends, she knew it was time to go. Still, they didn’t have to leave right away. She was going to take full advantage of it, the only way she knew how, right outside Twilight’s castle.
“That tickles!” she giggled. Her mane was tossed and turned in a magical aura, from being straightened out, to being even curlier than it normally was. “What are you trying to do?”
“I’m hoping to find out if I can completely straighten out your hair,” Starlight hummed. She kept at it for a little while, but anytime she got close to straightening it out, the mane would poof out and go back to being curly.
“That’s what you wanna study your magic in?” Surprise tilted her head and wondered.
“Come on, not every spell has to change the world overnight. Just some of them.” Starlight finally got Surprise’s mane completely straight for once, but again, it poofed out to being curly. “I give up. I guess that’s one thing you’re like Pinkie in.”
“It could be like her mane. I hadn’t really thought about it.” Still, after sitting down for a moment, Surprise came over and hugged Starlight. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
“I really can’t. There’s always some mystical threat trying to tear down Equestria, I need to continue my friendship studies with Twilight, all that jazz. But don’t worry. I’ll meet up with you girls down the road. It won’t be long. Are you going to be okay?”
“I think so.” While she was hanging out, Trixie was hard at work on the wagon, fine tuning it for the road ahead. She was struggling to get the spells right, but the wagon was almost ready to go. It just needed a few tweaks here and there.
Starlight smiled from the sight and came over to Trixie’s side. “You’re not going to get into trouble while I’m gone, are you? I know how tempting it is to take power again…”
“Trixie already has all the power she needs,” the great and powerful unicorn smirked. “But thank you for your concern.” She reached a hoof around Surprise and brought her in. “And with my wonderful assistant, nothing can stop us...except wheels...” She noticed the wheels on her wagon. “...that aren’t on my ride.”
Starlight laughed from the thought, and she noticed a certain other unicorn coming along to greet them. Sunset was far less anxious than before, but she had trouble making eye contact with Surprise in particular. “So this is it? You’re leaving?”
“For now,” noted Surprise. “But we’ll be back. The show always comes back to Ponyville sooner or later, after all.”
“That’s good. Really good.” Twilight would be watching from the door of the castle, but she was noting how Sunset acted. “Are you sure you’re not mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?” Surprise thought.
“Because...well...I told Twilight about what you are…”
“Oh…” As tempting as it was to get saddened by the thought, Surprise kept her head up. “You were right about one thing. We probably should have told you guys about me a long time ago. It’s okay, though.” She reached up and hugged Sunset as well. “I’m not mad at you.”
Sunset was taken aback from the hug, but she returned the favor. “Thank you. I just wanted to say that before you go.”
“Hey, don’t forget it’s Surprise and Trixie leaving!” said Trixie. “This is a terrible day, one where you no longer…bask in my...greatness…heh heh…”
She dropped the act right when Twilight came into the scene with a raised eyebrow. “You are going to stay out of trouble, right? No more Alicorn Amulets? No plans to take over the world?”
“Of course she won’t!” Surprise cheered. “She’s got wonderful friends to help her out, just like she helped me out.”
“Right. Right.” Trixie wrapped an arm around Surprise’s forelegs and grinned. “Nothing will be able to stop us any longer! We’ll be the greatest show in Equestria! Trixie and Surprise, partners in cri--” She stopped herself when Twilight raised an eyebrow even further. “...in the magic show!”
Twilight merely smiled and nodded her head. “And you’re both welcome to come back anytime you like.”
“Yeah, it’s gonna feel weird without having you around,” Starlight agreed.
“Just take it easy out there, Surprise? There’s a lot of the world you haven’t seen yet, and it’s amazing,” noted Sunset.
“I will. Thank you all!” In the tradition of her kinda-sorta-sister, Surprise was somehow able to grab them all into a group hug. Like before, Trixie would be gasping for air, wonderful how in the world this pegasus was so strong.
“WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!” a voice shouted from the horizon. They all looked up, and Pinkie was there with literally a whole cart of cakes, candy, and other stuff. “I’m not too late!” She ran up to the spot, desperate to keep all those treats in store.
“What’s this?” Even if Surprise already had a pretty big breakfast, her stomach growled from the sight of the treats. “Is this another party?”
“No, it’s a care package on your trip!” Pinkie panted from the weight of all the snacks, but she still brought the cart forward. It was so heavy, the wheels were actually digging into the ground. And Trixie wondered why ponies questioned her distrust of wheels.
“A care package? For us?” Trixie checked the contents of the cart. As much as she wanted to eat them all, she knew who they were really meant for. “Of course, Trixie is watching her diet...why don’t you have them, Surprise?”
Surprise couldn’t believe her eyes, and she sniffled as she turned to Pinkie. “Next time I come to Ponyville, we really gotta hang out. You really are like a sister.”
“Ooooh, so you feel it too?” thought Pinkie. “It’s okay. We’ll have a lot of time when you get back. I just wanted to bake you a lot of stuff before you left.” The next thing they knew, Trixie was levitating a lot of the baked goods into the wagon. “You’ll be back, right?”
“Of course.” Surprise sniffled again as she turned around to all the ponies there. “Is this what it feels like to have a lot of friends?”
“It is,” Twilight agreed. “It might sound cheesy when I say friendship is magic, but you’re starting to see why I believe it.”
“Yeah…” Surprise had the biggest smile on her face as she looked to all her new friends. “I do…”
Eventually, though, it was time. Before she knew it, she and Trixie were waving to the four ponies they just befriended, and the wagon was back on the road. Surprise pulled it along at first, and Trixie would trot by her side.
It was another sunny day in Equestria, but this one felt different to the white pegasus. It felt...more open. More free. Like anything could happen. That’s what happens when a massive weight is off your chest and you’re not having to keep secrets anymore, she thought.
It wouldn’t take long for Trixie to note how carefree Surprise was acting, and she had a smirked smile going on from it. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“That Trixie would make your day better just by existing.”
Surprise giggled and nodded. “You were already doing that. I just wonder what’s next for us.”
“Why, we travel around Equestria and show them what we got! Or, we could travel outside Equestria and bring our show to new places. I hear Griffonstone doesn’t have magic like we do, could you imagine their faces when they see things they’ve never seen before?”
“No. I mean you and me.”
Trixie stopped and blinked. “Oh. Well, I’m not sure. You have been a wonderful assistant, Trixie never lied about that. I want you to stay on board as long as I’m doing these shows.”
“It’s not just that.” Surprise took a deep breath. “Pinkie isn’t the first pony I’ve met that felt like a sister to me.”
That caught Trixie off guard, and her jaw was almost lowered. “Me? A sister? Why?”
“Well, you took me in when I was hiding, you helped me in a really bad spot, and you defended me when they found out who I really was. That’s something a sister would do, right?”
“I...uh….” Trixie didn’t know what to say at first, and it was obvious to Surprise. “I guess that’s what good sisters should do. I just didn’t expect you to see me that way.”
“Why not?” Surprise tilted her head, as if this was a common fact.
“...I see your point. For what it’s worth, you would be a pretty good sister...a great and powerful one! After all, you’re the Great and Powerful Trixie’s sister--”
She was cut off when Surprise hugged her even tighter than the group hugs that came before. “Is this what it feels like to have a family?”
Despite the force of the hug, Trixie felt her eyes swell up, not enough to cry, but enough to feel them water up. “Yes, Surprise. It is…”
“Then I really like it.”