//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Behind Enemy Lines! 
// Story: An Enthusiastic Admirer 
// by Eyeswirl the Weirded 
//------------------------------//

Having heard the story of how Prince Blueblood and Trixie first met, warm fuzzies tickling her insides ever since, Ditzy was determined to see those two together, more-so than earlier today! Doctor said he had "something kind of not-not unlike what may or may not have not been a plan" to help Prince get over whatever issues he had with Trixie. Until then, she would try to keep Trixie from giving up, already having a pretty good idea how to find her. Flying above Ponyville for a bit, it wasn't long before she spotted a starry, purple hat coming from Sweet Apple Acres, luckily being worn by Trixie! 

She had intended to swoop down, land in front of her, and say hello. Colliding with the ground almost at Trixie's hooves and startling her considerably was probably okay too.

Trixie looked like she was barely fending off a heart attack. "W-w-what the hay do you think you're doing?!"

Ditzy got up, shaking off the dust. "Hi again! Sorry about that, kinda lost control there."

Trixie gave her an odd look, trying not to think what it would be like if unicorns -especially one of her talent- were to randomly lose control of their magic. "Right. Well, if you'll excuse Trixie she's rather busy looking for-"

She smiled. "Prince Blueblood? I think I can help!"

Considering this, Trixie grinned as well. "Then your company is most welcome!" Ditzy began to lead, they made it only a few steps before the showpony added, "but don't ask Trixie to punch anypony."

Ditzy giggled. "I'm just saying..."

She decided to start with Sugarcube Corner, but they didn't see any of the six she'd hoped to. "Darn," Ditzy mumbled, "Looks like they're not around right now. You can usually find Prince and his friends hanging out here." She smiled to Trixie. "Oh, well, wanna grab a muffin while we're here?"

Trixie carefully averted her eyes as though inspecting the interior of the building. "Trixie maintains a fairly consistent eating schedule, and would rather not offset it with pastry." She had long ago mastered ways to avoid so much as implying that she might not have had much money to burn.

"Are you sure? They make just about everything great here, my treat!"

She regarded her guide with just a hint of suspicion, but nodded slowly, not at all influenced by the faint, inaudible gurgle in her own stomach. Once they were seated, she spoke quietly. "Alright, what do you really want?"

Ditzy grinned, looking at the blue mare that had come to take their orders until Pinkie Pie returned from her errand. "I think I'll go with a blueberry muffin this time! How about you?"

"No, I mean, what are you really after here?"

She blinked twice. "...A snack?"

Trixie decided to elaborate as Mrs. Cake trotted off, voice still low. "Nopony just offers things without expecting anything in return. Do you want money? Jewels? Because Trixie doesn't really carry around a lot of wealth." She blinked. "N-not all the time, I mean!"

The mailmare frowned a little, something about Trixie reminded her of Blueblood when he first came to town. What was it? "Um..."

"Oh, I know, you'd like to be on stage with Trixie in her next show?" She drew a hoof to her chin, eyes carefully scanning her prospective performance partner. "Trixie doesn't know what you would do to dazzle a crowd, do you have any-"

Ditzy held up a hoof. "Wait a minute, please?"

She went quiet, still looking at the pony across the table analytically, both for a motive and possible insight as to whether or not she could ride a unicycle. I know I've seen pegasi keep balance with their wings, cheating, but the crowd never seems to notice...

"Haven't you ever just wanted to help somepony? Just to make them smile?"

Trixie's eyes narrowed. "Why would you want to help me?"

Despite a little grin, Ditzy's voice was calm. "Because you're new in town, you're looking for a friend, and everypony could use a little help now and then." Mrs. Cake returned with a tray bearing two blueberry muffins, setting it on the table and smiling to her regular customer. Ditzy nudged a muffin toward Trixie, eyes earnest and friendly. "Right?"

Trixie took a moment to look back and forth between the confection and its offerer, visibly confused. She lowered her gaze to settle on the muffin, the rim of her hat blocking her eyes as she picked it up in her magic. "Thank you," she whispered, "T-Trixie will pay you back someday."

Ditzy wanted to say that it wouldn't be necessary, but settled on enjoying muffins in silence, Trixie not making eye contact again until they got up to search elsewhere for Prince. 

What they found on the way out after Ditzy paid for the muffins was Pinkie Pie, who stopped dead when she saw Trixie. "GAAASSSP!!!" And she sped off.

The mailmare looked to her companion, who stood perfectly still with a perplexed look on her face. "...Trixie knows she's amazing and all, but most ponies don't run away like that."

Ditzy smiled, rolling her eyes (for what she could manage, each eye moving in different directions). "I really wish she would exchange names first or something, might save time later. Oh, well, let's try somewhere else... Maybe he's at the library?"

"Trixie tried there earlier, nopony was home." She checked, one of the windows was open. Even the secret compartment she found behind the bookcase was empty.

Well, that was the two most likely spots down, they'd just have to wander for a while. Ponyville wasn't that big, you were bound to run into the pony you're looking for sooner or later. 


---


The post office? No. The park? Nope. A little tree-cottage on the edge of town? Not there either. It was entirely possible that Trixie's guide was wandering around at random (suggesting Sugarcube Corner a few more times on the way), which would explain why they were looking for a grown stallion at the local schoolhouse. It was just as well that they'd arrived during recess when all the foals were out playing, Trixie felt she could use a rest. Sitting under a tree near the swingsets, she watched Ditzy nuzzling a little purplish unicorn with a similar mane and eyes, possibly her little sister? Or, maybe her daughter? She looked a little young to be a parent, but somehow it fit.

This line of thought led to a very, very uncomfortable one she'd done her best to ignore many times before. Foals. Making a foal might be easy, but the rest is supposed to be very long and very, very painful. Looking at the horn of the little filly Ditzy was patting on the head, Trixie gulped. She did not do well with pain, and the prospect of motherhood, raising a foal of her own, was an alien and terrifying one. She loved Blueblood, that much she was sure of, but there was only so long she could tell herself she'd figure it out later. Ooh, maybe he would know? That would certainly take a lot of pressure off-

Something tugged on her cloak. Snapping to attention, she looked to the source, a little white colt with brown spots and a darkish brown mane. "'Scuze me, Miss, why are you wearin' a blanket? Are you cold?"

She chuckled, standing up. "Trixie's Magnificent Cloak is for her performances, as is her Wondrous Hat!" It was good for keeping warm some nights, too, but that wasn't important right now.

The foal tilted his little head, confused. "Performances?"

Part of her was impressed that he correctly pronounced the word the first time, doubly so with his accent. Nodding once, she smiled. "Like this." She closed her eyes, focusing on the air in front of her as a series of rectangular prisms of white light appeared, floating apart from each other and twisted at angles from each other not unlike the steps in a spiral staircase, all of them rotating in the air at once like a slow-moving drill with no tip. Opening her eyes again and grinning to herself at the colt's already mesmerized expression, Trixie flicked her horn (and consequently the rest of her head) and the prisms of light solidified into a pure sheen around the shapes that had made them, the result a floating spiral of metallic, shining rectangular blocks without the metal, slowly twirling about in the air.

It was then that Trixie heard the collective 'ooh's and 'aah's of the band of colts and fillies that had gathered to witness her work, right before the sound of little hooves stamping in applause. She grinned. Might as well do a few more now that I have an audience!  "Watch and be amazed, colts and fillies, at the mystifying magic of the Great, and Powerful Trrrrixie!"

The gleaming spiral of disembodied shine she'd been using to entertain the first of her young fans began spinning much faster, taking off and flying about, circling the foals as they followed with their eyes, giggling as some tried to catch it in their hooves. It flew toward a flowerbed by the school building, whirling through the plants a few times and picking up a petal or two from each flower with each contact. As the spiral began to float back to the foals, each petal following it began to shine and glow as though glistening with dew directly in the rays of morning light, regardless of angle to the sun. The petals flowed with the spiral like the tail of a serpent, again weaving and whirling near the excited colts and fillies until orbiting Trixie herself several times, each pass faster than the one before. Trixie stood up on her hind legs, pulling her cloak about herself like the wings of a bat and looking down, her hat obscuring her face at the very instant the spiral and all of its shining tail flowed under the cloak.

All was silent for a moment, Trixie looking like some strange, pointy-hatted cocoon until she looked up, beaming, and threw her forehooves out, the inside of her cape projecting all colors of the rainbow with bright intensity, billowing as it released a massive cloud of shimmering, golden flower petals over the foals, and a dark-purplish-coated mare with a light pink mane that had apparently come to enjoy the show. The collective response, as she expected, was thunderous applause. Well, as thunderous as could be managed by a dozen or so foals, their teacher, and Ditzy Doo. Two colts in particular seemed especially amazed.

Cheerilee, though still smiling brightly, was the first to compose herself. "And that, class, is a fine show of what can be done with unicorn magic!" She turned to Trixie. "Thank you for the demonstration, but we really need to get back to class now."

Despite the collective, dejected 'awwww' of the foals, Trixie grinned, striking a majestic pose. "Now, now, Trixie didn't get to be the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria through play alone. Study hard, and you too may someday be Great and Powerful!"

Though not exactly enamored with the arrogance of the sentiment, her class eagerly charging into the school building made Cheerilee want to kiss Trixie, though something told her she wasn't into mares. Neither was Cheerilee for that matter, but still...

As the class headed back in, Ditzy approached, cheerful little grin prominent as ever. "I don't think we'll find him here, but it was nice of you to play with those kids."

"Y-yes, of course," she chuckled, "Trixie's benevolence knows no bounds!"

Ditzy was smart enough to know she probably just felt like showing off, but the foals, Dinky and Rumble included, liked it, so what was the harm? "We should probably keep looking, let's try Sugarcu-"

Trixie scowled. "For pity's sake, Ditzy!!"

She smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right!"

Trixie rolled her eyes, faintly surprised to find herself smiling. "Are the local bakers really that good?"

Crossed eyes sparkled. "Yeeeeessss!"

She didn't recall the muffin she'd had earlier as being particularly amazing, but regardless she was a mare on a mission! "Right. Where else might we find Blueblood?"


---


They wound up at the weather office. Opening the door, Ditzy glanced over her shoulder with a smile. "I don't think we'll find Blueblood himself here, but one of his closest friends works with the weather team, so I think it's worth a try." Walking in, they could hear a mare talking.

"So, yes, standing under a rain-cloud while checking to make sure the right forms were ordered this time probably wasn't Dusty's best idea."

Thunderlane chuckled. "In her defense, Rainbow flying around randomly bucking clouds doesn't usually have a lot of fore-warning on days it's not supposed to rain."

Cloud Kicker snorted. "True." Rainbow had been in especially foul mood for some reason, not helped at all by the short (if hilarious) arguments with Lightning Dust about watching where she throws her tantrums and whether or not her patented Rain-Blow-Dry™ would just tear the wet papers to shreds. Luckily, Cloud had been there to cheerfully offer to find a way to dry them off, sneakily defusing the situation then and there. The last thing they needed was those two at each others' throats again.

Ditzy happily bounded toward the pair of pegasi, grinning ear to ear. "Thunderlane! Have you seen Prince?"

He replied without even looking up from the slightly damp, crumply sheets spread out on the desk. "No."

Ditzy tripped mid-gallop, face-planting and sliding along the floor until her head lightly collided with a wall. "Oh," she said with a voice drained of enthusiasm, "never mind then..."

As she hugged her hind legs to her stomach and curled up into a little ball of despair, Cloud Kicker caught sight of Trixie, who'd watched the last fifteen seconds with a mildly perplexed look on her face. The purple pegasus grinned, zipping over to Trixie and draping a hoof over her back, but before she could so much as say something welcoming, Trixie lightly pushed her away.

"As much as it may wound you to hear, Trixie is already quite spoken for."

A little surprised, Cloud Kicker giggled a little. That honestly wasn't what she'd had in mind at the moment. "Who's the lucky pony?"

She grinned, striking a haughty pose. "The Pony With Amazing Azure Eyes, Alabaster Angel of Canterlot, Most Eligible Bachelor in Equestria, Best-Groomed-"

Thunderlane finally spoke up, raising a slightly suspicious eyebrow. "Wait, Blueblood never said anything about having a fillyfriend." Let alone one dressed like a circus routine, but he'd seen some crazy styles out of Canterlot.

Trixie brushed a lock of her mane aside in a nonchalant fashion. "It shouldn't come as a surprise, really," she glanced at a nearby filing cabinet, smiling in admiration at her own reflection in its metallic sheen, "two beautiful, perfect ponies such as he and Trixie finding happiness together? Was there ever any doubt?"

In his head, the black pegasus fought a three-way battle. The contenders were Answering Her Question, Avoiding That Question, and Ignoring Her And Focusing On His Paperwork. The last was disqualified on account of said papers still drying and, having nothing better to do, the first option won a bloody victory. "Are we talking about the same guy here? Prince Blueblood?"

Raising an eyebrow, she took a few steps closer. "What exactly are you implying abou-" she stopped, looking questioningly at the contents of the desk. "Why are these papers wet?"

Thunderlane answered in complete deadpan. "It rained."

"Trixie hasn't seen a drop fall all day!"

"It only rained in one spot."

Not particularly interested in the intricacies of weather pony logic, Trixie shrugged. "Ok, then. Now what was that about Trixie's Future Husband?"

He shrugged. "Don't know, I'm just not sure he's the 'Future Husband' type-"

"Snrk!"

A white mohawk shifted slightly as Thunderlane whipped his head to the side to see Cloud Kicker trying and failing to cover a huge grin with a hoof. He raised an eyebrow.

She suppressed a giggle. "Nothing, nothing!"

Thunderlane slowly looked back toward the equally confused stage magician, whom he'd heard a bit about earlier today. "...Anyway, you might not find much luck in love with-"

He was interrupted by more giggles, repeating his action of a moment ago as Cloud sheepishly smiled back.

Getting annoyed, he had a pretty good idea what it was she found so funny. "...Speaking from experience, I-"

"PFFFTHAHAHAHA!"

Another glare. She was visibly tearing up trying not to laugh, both forehooves over her mouth. He spoke through gritted teeth. "Anything you'd like to share, Cloud Kicker?"

She shook her head during a very unconvincing coughing fit.

Letting out a breath through his nose, he looked back at Trixie, who looked increasingly bewildered. "So, yea, he probably hasn't been waiting for you all his life."

"Nonsense, ponies wait their whole lives to meet Trixie before they know she exists!"

Leaning back in his chair, Thunderlane crossed his forehooves, giving the showmare an inquisitive look. "Is that why he's been with so many fillies already?" Trixie made a face suggesting offense, but he continued. "I don't know the exact numbers, but the way he talks I don't think you'd be his first, if you catch my drift."

Cloud Kicker brushed a hoof against her chin. "I think it's somewhere in the twenties, maybe thirty?" She sampled bewildered, slightly frightened stares from everypony but Ditzy, who was still lying by the wall she'd collided with. She smiled. "It's a gift."

"You're making that up," said Thunderlane with more hope than conviction, "I'm not completely sold on the Pinkie Sense, being able to tell how many... Um..."

"Banging buddies?" She offered helpfully.

He shrugged. "Sure, that, but you are not telling me you have a sixth sense for something so stupid."

She grinned wider. "Trixie's count is zero." That one was riddled out with a bit of logical deduction, but why spoil the fun?

Curious, Thunderlane turned to face the now beet-red stage magician, as if searching for affirmation. Rapidly looking back and forth between the pegasi, she managed a stutter. "T-th-that, that is NONE of your-"

Cloud Kicker took a step closer, looking like she was having entirely too much fun teasing the celibate-for-now unicorn. "Don't worry, there's no shame in it, just a lot of time that could have been spent," she waggled her eyebrows, "very differently!"

Trixie harrumphed, closing her eyes and pointing her bright-red snout toward the ceiling. "Trixie just hasn't found anypony else worthy to be called her lover, that's all!"

The weathermare rolled her eyes, chuckling. "Then I guess you'd want to be doubly sure you got the one that was, right?"

Cautiously opening one eye, Trixie directed it at Cloud Kicker. "R-right..."

She beamed, zipping closer and draping a wing over Trixie's back. "Then let me share some tips!"


---


Lightning Dust stepped into the weather office, having dried off from Rainbow Careless Dash's outburst earlier. Turning the corner, she found Thunderlane at his desk, focusing very intently on a bunch of papers with his hooves over his ears and his face slightly red, Ditzy Doo sitting in the corner counting off something on her wings while looking confused, and of course, Cloud Kicker smirking at some other pony, who she'd probably brought in to chat up and fool around with later. 

Seeing her approach, Cloud smiled and waved a hoof. "Hi, Dusty!"

"Don't call me that," she deadpanned automatically, "are the forms dry yet?"

They both looked at Thunderlane, who hadn't shifted his gaze from the desk or his hooves from his ears. Papers. Drying papers. Papers getting dry. That is what I'm hearing right now. That and nothing else.

Lightning did not look amused. "You delegated the job to him, didn't you?"

"What? No, I-"

"Don't tell me, your brilliant plan was to leave them with the driest pony in town, hoping it'd catch on?" The hint of a smirk on her face suggested she said it more to get his attention than anything else, but look on his face as he noticed she was in the room going from alert to slightly annoyed in silence just made it all the sweeter. 

He looked back and forth between the two of them, getting the strangest feeling that he'd just been insulted, but not wanting to jump to conclusions. "What?"

Trixie smiled, seeing a chance to repay the weathermare's assistance for when she found Blueblood. "Watch and be amazed!" They couldn't see her horn light up, but any trace of moisture fading from the papers on the desk was immediately apparent. The drying spell had come in handy many times when her wagon had a leak.

Lightning Dust's mouth opened, closed, and opened again. "Huh. I guess it worked." She suppressed the urge to scowl as Cloud Kicker stepped closer, her face expectant. Do it quick and clean, like ripping off a band-aid. "Good job."

Cloud Kicker beamed, wings fluttering happily as she nuzzled Lightning's face. "It's what I do, Dusty!"

Quickly stepping back, the automatic reply came again. "Don't call me that!" She gathered up the papers and headed out, warily watching the skies for clouds even a little grayer than normal.

Giggling, the purple pony turned to Trixie with a grateful grin. "Thanks!"

She smiled a smug little smile in reply. "Always count on the mystifying magic of the Great, and Powerful Trixie!" Truth be told, she was happier about repaying the favor immediately. The Great and Powerful Trixie didn't like having debts, no matter how small.

Ditzy got up, shaking her head sadly as she approached the others. "I'm sorry, we've looked everywhere I know to look and there's no sign of him." The mailmare managed a cheerful little grin. "I've gotta get going now, but good luck on your search, Trixie!" She left in the same fashion as Lightning did, school would be letting out soon and somepony had to be there to pick up Dinky!

Thunderlane tilted his head curiously. "Search?"

Cloud answered before Trixie could. "They were looking for Blueblood, remember? She's the pony we heard about earlier."

"Ah." Now he looked directly at her. "Have you tried your wagon? He might actually be looking for you."

Trixie's mouth opened and closed a few times. "I, uh, o-of course Trixie would look there, eventually. Trixie was just, er, exploring the town in which her beloved lived first!" Before anypony could reply, she reared up on her hind legs, "Farewell!" and vanished in a puff of purple smoke.

When it cleared and the coughing fits subsided, Cloud Kicker smiled. "She's fun."