//------------------------------// // -2- // Story: The Librarian and The Showmare // by Bakmah Genesis //------------------------------// The sound of shouting jolted Trixie awake from her sleep. She looked around to find fresh pancakes sitting on her tray. Spike sat on the couch, rubbing his temples as he listened to the shouting outside. Trixie could make out Twilight, but there was another mare there she couldn't figure out. "Wh-what's g-going on?" asked Trixie in a hoarse voice. Spike's head shot up, relaxing slightly as he saw Trixie. "Rainbow Dash came in, saw you, and attempted to kick your flank while you were sleeping. They are now having a shouting match over you," said Spike in a bored, annoyed tone. The dragon stood and grabbed the plate of pancakes. He sliced off a piece and held it out to her. "Don't thank me. I am not happy about this." Trixie gulped before opening her mouth, taking the bite. For the next half hour, Spike fed Trixie with an annoyed expression as the shouting match continued. It wasn't until Spike finished and set the plate to the side did the door kick open. A cyan Pegasus that was obviously Rainbow Dash by the colour of her mane stormed in, Twilight not far behind. "I don't care if she is on her death bed, I will not let her stay here in Ponyville after what she did!" said Rainbow Dash as she stormed toward Trixie. The azure mare couldn't do anything more than shrink into her covers for protection against the pegasus. Twilight stepped in front of her. "No, Rainbow! She is in my home and is in my custody. I don't care what you have against her, but you are not throwing her out! She is too weak as it is that she will probably die within minutes out there." "And maybe she deserves it!" shouted Rainbow. Twilight froze. A pure blank expression across her face. Rainbow grew slightly concerned by this change and behavior. "Twi-" SLAP! Rainbow stood in complete shock as she grabbed her cheek. She turned to look at Twilight, finding the lavender unicorn staring at her behind eyes of pure rage. "No pony, no matter what they have done, deserves to die like that. I will not have you saying things like that. Not in my library, not ANYWHERE!" shouted the unicorn, her mane billowing in an imaginary wind. Rainbow shrank away from her while the other two occupants of the room stood in shock. "I-I'm just going to put this plate away," said Spike, slowly backing away to the door. Neither mare except Trixie seemed to hear him. The azure mare silently begged him not to leave her alone with the two others. The drake shrugged with a sheepish smile before closing the door behind him. Trixie's glance darted between the two occupants in the room. One who looked like she could vaporize whoever looked at her wrong at the moment and the other who cowered in the corner, fearing what may happen to her. "M-may somepony stir my fire?" Asked Trixie, hoping to break the tension. She sighed in relief as Twilight's mane went back to normal, the mare taking a deep breathe before trotting over to the fire with a light smile. Rainbow blinked at the sudden change in mood. She turned to Trixie for an explanation, the azure mare shrugging back at her. "S-so Trixie....h-how have you been?" asked Rainbow, shifting in her spot a bit. Trixie swallowed a bit to wet her throat for the task of speaking. "F-fine. The y-year could have b-been better, b-but oh well." Trixie shivered as a wave of cold air blew through the library, a sign of the front door opening. "Twilight!" Three filly voices called out. Twilight and Rainbow visibly winced at the sound. "Rainbow, can you keep an eye on Trixie while I go make sure they do not come back here? I don't want other ponies finding out about her until she is of good health." The lavender unicorn sighed as she made her way around Trixie's bed and towards the door. The two mares sat there in relative silence, Rainbow shaking out a wing every now and then. "I am sorry about what I did the last few times I was here," said Trixie, staring at the pattern on her blanket. Purple stars of a certain unicorn's cutie mark adorned the square quilt work. "Sure you are," mumbled Rainbow Dash. "What? Crawling to the doorstep of my supposed 'worst enemy' while on my death bed is not enough of an apology?" asked Trixie before she started into a coughing fit, using the blankets to muffle the sound of her coughing. "Well..." Rainbow looked away, her ears splaying back. "I guess it is." She let out a long sigh. "I...still do not trust you, though. Not after what you did. But, I guess I can be okay with you being here, for now." Trixie sighed before giving her a small smile. "That is all I ask for. Though, I am hesitant on leaving once I am healed and back to my normal self in a week," said Trixie, looking off to the side. "I don't see why you don't want to go back to whatever you do." Rainbow shrugged. "I mean, travelling all over Equestria must be awesome! I hardly ever leave Ponyville." "Because Trixie is not wanted," said Trixie darkly. "I made one mistake, and that mistake caused me to get rejected." She growled. "It didn't help that before the mistake, I was called out and humiliated for a simple business trick that everyone knows! Build your fake character and not be afraid to hold it up high because it represents what you are for. Others took my character, my advertisment, too literal. A group of ponies at one of my shows started it." Rainbow's ears splayed back as she realized she was talking about her. "The whole Ursa Major thing was just to attract ponies?" asked Rainbow. "Yes. I would bring ponies, and then tell the tale of how 'The Great and Powerful Trixie' defeated an Ursa Major. Once it was all done, I would go back and see how many bits I made off from telling a story. I am not a magician, Rainbow Dash, I am a storyteller. I tell the stories of a fictional character based off what I would like to accomplish. You and your friends, however, refused to see this." Trixie sighed as she stared at ceiling. A small smirk appeared on her face. "Obviously, I'm so good at my craft, I made The Great and Powerful Trixie seem more real than she was." "I...guess you're kinda cool," said Dash, scratching behind her head. Trixie laughed. "Don't force yourself now." The azure pushed herself up so she was facing Rainbow. "All that was over a year ago. All my bitterness is not directed at any of you, but more to me for acting so stupid and thinking myself as Holier Than Thou. My fictional character got to my head and created this whole mess. Its my fault and my fault alone." Trixie sighed as she laid back down. “I’m going to go to bed, tell Twilight not to disturb me when you get the chance,” she said, closing her eyes. Rainbow nodded as she stood. She made her way out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Once in the lobby, she looked to see Twilight rubbing her temples as the CMC zoomed around the room, checking out the shelves. Walking up to her, Rainbow leaned into her ear. “Trixie wants to be alone for awhile to sleep.” Twilight’s ears perked as she turned to her. “Sleeping, already?” She scratched her chin. “Well, our fight must have exhausted her or something. Well, I’ll just have Spike bring some water in and set it next to her bed for her.” Rainbow nodded as she turned to look at the fillies running around the room. "They're trying to find a book to help get a cutie mark. I decided to just tune them out," said Twilight with a sigh. Rainbow laughed. "That's the best thing to do when it comes to those three." She sighed. "I'm going to head off to work. I'll let you tell the girls whenever you want," said Rainbow as she walked towards the door. Twilight smiled and waved goodbye. She let out a small chuckle as she turned to see what the girls were doing. She froze as she watched Scootaloo balance herself on a large stack of books, swaying side to side as she attempted to keep upright. She let out a scream as the books fell out from under her, getting tossed all over the room as well as the shelf of books she was looking in. "Better tell Spike he has to reorganize," said Twilight with a sigh.