• Published 26th Mar 2012
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Blue Angel - V-Pony



A Blue Angels pilot is saved from a fiery crash by a most unexpected savior

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Inseptium Nova-Pt 14: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

September 14th, Ponyville, Early Evening...

It was another peaceful evening in Central Equestria. The stars were winking into existence, Luna's golden autumn moon was waxing over the horizon, and the breeze was picking up as the Weather Squad Pegasi worked on piling up great grey tufts of thunderclouds that towered over the western edge of Ponyville; it was quite literally the calm before the storm hanging over the town. Unfortunately, a different storm was poised to crash quite unexpectedly upon the eardrums of a pair of Pegasi plus one Earth Pony filly.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!"
What the hell?! Volare managed to think as the door to Sugarcube Corner opened after he'd just barely knocked on it. He was greeted by the sight of Pinkie Pie wearing a frazzled expression that matched her pink mane quite well, which stuck out frizzily in all directions imaginable. Scootaloo and Applebloom would have giggled at the sight if it weren't for the incessant wails of a baby pouring out of the bakery behind her. The baker mare's blue eyes were dilated, and sweat beaded her forehead, but that wasn't the strange part; the strange part was the pale green surgeon's mask she wore strapped over her muzzle. Her eyes peeped over the mask and she gave them what appeared to be an apologetic smile through the mask.

"Uh, Pinkie, just what the hay is going on in there?" Volare asked, craning his neck to see past the pink pony, but was stopped by an equally pink hoof to the chest.

"Uh-uh, you do not wanna go in there," Pinkie shook her head in emphasis, the mask slightly muffling the friendly warning in her voice. "The Cake's Twins are not feeling well; I'm up to my hocks in hooey, if ya know what I mean."

"Eww, gross," Scootaloo made a face and backed a few steps away from the door.

"Well, that explains the stink," Applebloom wrinkled her nose and backed off too. "An' I thought tha pigs on tha farm smelled bad." Volare had enough sense to not experimentally sniff the air as well, and he looked back at Pinkie sympathetically.

"Are they gonna be ok, Pinkie?" he frowned in worry, though the frown soon turned to a look of confusion as a tiny brown-maned Pegasus came flying across the gap in the doorway, turned a circle around the room, and whizzed back the way he'd come to the sound of something shattering.

"Oh yeah, it's just the summer-to-winter tummy troubles that go around this time of year," the mare smiled assuredly, wincing slightly at the sound of tinkling glass. "Nothing too bad, but it's making them awfully moody and it's probably a good idea if Scootaloo stayed somewhere else tonight...oh, where's your fourth Crusader?" Pinkie asked, just now noticing the absence of the Unicorn filly.

"We dropped her off at Rarity's already," Scootaloo spoke up. "And my bro here is still all miffed that Rarity won't tell him what his surprise is she's working on," the young Pegasus nudged her brother's hind leg with a hoof, and he rolled his eyes and chuckled dryly.

"Ya'll mean done workin' on," Applebloom corrected with a wink. "An' it's just got ol' Volare here more frustrated 'n a frog in a fryin' pan," Pinkie returned the country filly's laugh with a muffled one of her own before patting Volare on his grumbling head.

"Don't worry Volare, I'm sure she's got a good reason why she's keeping it a surprise."

"Yeah, she wants me to fly first," he continued to grumble melodramatically. "Said something about how it'd help up at higher altitudes where it's cold."

"Hmm, makes sense to me," Pinkie cocked her head and smiled with her eyes. "Oooh, speaking of surprises, I still owe you a party, Volare!" she hoofed him in the shoulder playfully. "Then again, by now, it's more like three parties and-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!" Pinkie's frazzled mane somehow flattened itself and her ears splayed back on her head in discomfort.

"Ah-hah-hah, gotta go you guys," she said hurriedly, but jerked to a halt so fast that the mask nearly flew off her face as she turned back around. "Oh frosting, where're you planning on having Scootaloo stay for the night?"

"She can stay at mah family's place," Applebloom grinned and threw a chummy hoof around the fuchsia-maned filly. "We're havin' a dinner fer Volare an' we made plenty o' hoof-lickin food ta go around. Ya'll are welcome to it, Scoots."

"Sounds good to me, Applebloom," the Pegasus looked up at her brother. "Can I go?"

"Need you even ask if the hostess herself just invited you?" Volare mussed her mane and gave Pinkie a wave. "See ya Pinks! Hope the Twins get better soon!"

"Thanks Volare-oh, no no no, Pumpkin Cake, you put that pudding down right now-agh!" Pinkie slammed the door shut just as something orange and white splattered all over the peephole, dripped down, and seeped between the door and the threshold. "Bye Volare-bear!" Pinkie's flustered cry came through the door as her hoofsteps receded, leaving Scootaloo, Volare, and Applebloom blinking in disbelief on the front porch of the gingerbread-styled bakery.

..............

"Well, that was interesting," the older Pegasus chuckled lightly as he carried Applebloom and Scootaloo on his back.

"Yeah, if you call a baby Pegasus able to fly before either of us interesting," Scootaloo grumbled and slammed her hoof against Volare's saddlebag. "I mean, what the hay, man?!"

"Search me," Applebloom shrugged and poked Volare's mane. "Why're we headed to tha hospital again, Volare?"

"To check in on a friend of mine and Scootaloo's," he replied with a smile and glanced back at her. "You ever heard of the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

"Uuh...Ah reckon so," Applebloom scratched her chin and squinted in concentration before her eyes lit up. "Eeyup, definitely heard'a her from Applejack! Oooh, she said she was a real jerk of a high-an'-mighty sorta pony" she scowled. "Why're we visitin' a high-an'-mighty jerk?" Volare halted and turned to face the farm filly with a sigh. "Volare, what's wrong?"

"Applejack said that, eh? When?" he inquired with a sour expression; he thought AJ was going to help...

"A while back, why?"

"Ok, just making sure," his face lifted and he resumed trotting. "Applebloom...I'll admit Trixie probably isn't the most-liked pony in Ponyville because of what she's done-"

"That's being nice about it," Scootaloo muttered, meriting a light swat of rebuke from her brother's wing.

"-but she's my friend, and she swore to me she's looking to turn over a new leaf and start fresh, so I want you to be polite when we meet her, ok?"

"Yeah, Ah can do that," Applebloom nodded her red-bowed head.

"Good," the stallion smiled as they turned onto the path that led up to Ponyville Medical. But as they neared the front of the building, they were interrupted by a shout from above.

"Hey, you down there! Yeah, you!" Volare looked up curiously to see two blueish-gray Pegasi mares flutter down from the storm clouds and land in front of him. One wore a large pink bow in her pale blue mane, while the other wore her own mane bare, albeit in a flipped up, spikey style. Both had light raspberry-colored eyes (though the spike-maned one seemed to be wearing eyeliner under hers) and judging by the rest of their similar coloration, the two seemed to be related. "Heya, you gonna help with the cold front or are ya just gonna fiddle around down here with these fillies, eh?" the spikey-maned one smirked before the one with the bow swiped at her with a wing.

"Don't be so rude, Cloudchaser," she chided with a slightly slurred voice before smiling at Volare. "Heh, give my little sis a break; she's had a rough day and she's hungry and impatient."

"Am not, Flitter," the one called Cloudchaser grumbled.

"Of course you're not Flitter; I am," Flitter chuckled, causing Scootaloo to roll her eyes and speak up.

"So, um, are you guys gonna let us by, or can we just walk around while you argue?" the spunky filly queried from atop Volare's back. "Cuz we're hungry and late for dinner too, ya know."

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Cloudchaser shook her head and blushed slightly. "I guess she's right; I'm just grouchy and hungry too. Anyways, you wanna get up here and help with the storm clouds, bud? It'll help everypony get home quicker, ya know?" she flashed the stallion a winning smile that faded just as quickly as he shook his head apologetically.

"Eh-heh, I would but," he looked back at his wings and sighed. "I haven't quite figured out how to use these things just yet."

"What the-but you're a full-grown stallion!" Cloudchaser protested before Flitter gave a small gasp of realization and swatted her sister with a wing to get her attention.

"Cloudchaser, don't you know who this is?" she shook a head incredulously, but her sister shrugged. "This is the flightless Pegasus; the human-turned-pony, Volare!"

"Whoa, wait, this is the guy Lyra was talking about?" Cloudchaser cocked a head and smirked, trotting a quick circle around the blue Pegasus before remarking: "She didn't mention him being so skinny and tall."

"She said he had a nice flank though," Flitter giggled, causing Volare's face to flush and Scootaloo's wings to snap to attention in irritation. Applebloom simply groaned and bit her lip, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable sitting atop said flank as Flitter circled around behind the mortified stallion. With a soft growl, Scootaloo leaped off her brother's back and glared daggers at the two mares.

"Alright, knock it off," she stomped the ground with a small orange hoof, causing the two sisters to step back in surprise. "You're embarrassing my bro, and he can't fly; neither can I so just back off of him, ok?" Volare's heart swelled a bit in pride as he realized that Scootaloo was emulating himself from the first day that he met her. He also realized that she was taking their teasing just a little too seriously, and he clapped a hoof over Scootaloo's mouth and sat her behind a wing before she could say anything too terribly nasty.

"Uh, heh, sorry about that you two," Volare nodded and stepped around the two Pegasi. "Scoots is a little grumpy as well. Good luck with the storm though! See ya!" he swiftly ended the conversation and trotted towards the hospital, though he swore he heard them playfully remark about his appearance one more time before they called out to him.

"Sorry dude!" Cloudchaser chuckled, and he turned in surprise. "Sorry to bug you guys; meant nothing by it, honest," she said with an upraised hoof.

"Yeah, sorry! But hey, when you figure out how to fly, come join us up here," Flitter smiled as they took of for the storm clouds again. "We can always use an extra wing or two! See ya!" they waved, muttered something among themselves about flanks, and disappeared as the grey clouds enveloped their bodies.

"Lyra, I swear," Volare rolled his eyes and resumed heading up to the hospital, gently scolding Scootaloo for being kinda rude, but then thanking her for backing him up.

"Heh, you did the same for me, bro," she mussed his mane and turned to Applebloom, who'd scooted further up Volare's back. "You ok there, 'Bloom?"

"Oh yeah, Ah'm good," she muttered. "Just tryin' not ta touch yer brother's flank too much," she whispered, causing Scootaloo to swallow a loud laugh. "Wish they hadn't a mentioned that cuz now it just feels weird sittin' on it."

"You can walk if ya want," the Pegasus filly chuckled and leaned back against her brother's neck comfortably.

"Nah, in that case, Ah'll tough it out," the farm filly consented and settled back down as they made their way through the front doors of the hospital. "That was mighty brave o' ya'll standin' up fer'im like that, Scoots."

"Well, like I said, he did the same for me when I met him...besides, can't let my bro get swept off his hooves by just any old mare," she chuckled and gently tugged her brother's mane. "It's gonna take a special one; I'll make sure of it."

"So are you my business enforcer or my love-life coach, Scoots?" Volare cocked an eye back at her as they entered the commons of the hospital.

"Both," she replied matter-of-factly and stood on his back, leaning her elbows on his head in her usual position to help him scan the room before she tapped him on the forehead and pointed across the commons. As visiting hours were technically over, there was much less traffic than usual, the majority of ponies populating the place being doctors and nurses going about their tasks; this made it rather easy to spot the magician they were searching for. "Look, there she is!" her loud exclamation drawing the attention of the blue Unicorn who looked up in surprise from a magazine she was reading, waving a hoof as she caught sight of her visitors. She stood from the bench and trotted slowly forward, pulling a rolling IV hanger along with her, the tube from which looped over her shoulder and into her left forehoof. She was wearing both her cape and her pointy hat, both of which seemed to be freshly washed; in fact, Trixie looked much better on the whole than they'd last seen her, and it showed in the friendly smile she greeted them with.

"Well, well, what brings you two-er, three here, hmm?" Trixie gave Applebloom a curt nod, which the filly didn't return, instead opting to remain behind Volare. "Who're you?"

"AJ told me not ta talk ta strangers," the yellow filly began before Scootaloo snickered and flipped her tail.

"Sheesh, it's just Trixie," the Pegasus filly chuckled and shot the magician a grin. "How ya feelin', Trix?"

"Oh, much better, thank you Scootaloo," she raised her IV'd hoof as she spoke. "They've just got me on fluids and general observation right now...though they've stopped cutting the crusts off of my sandwiches," she said aside of her hoof, causing the trio to suppress a chuckle or two. "I think they're trying to hint that I should leave soon; it'll start with the crusts, and soon it'll escalate to plain old water instead of orange juice, and then they'll have me on that green mush they serve here," she made a face, as did Scootaloo, to which the Unicorn cocked an amused eyebrow in response. "Oh-ho, you don't care much for it either?"

"Blech, that stuff's like, made of overcooked asparagus or something," the Pegasus feigned a gag and Trixie chuckled. "The only really nice thing here are the beds."

"I know!" Trixie declared. "They're honestly the only thing keeping me here right now," she whispered with a wink before noticing Volare's raised eyebrow. "Ah-I mean, that and the arrival of the building supplies, of course," she hurriedly added. "Any word on them, Volare?"

"I haven't spoken to Ferrum since we ordered the supplies, but I'm assuming it's still going according to schedule," the Pegasus replied. "But I'd certainly hate to pull you away from your crust-less sandwiches and OJ too terribly early," he chuckled heartily at the somewhat embarrassed expression on Trixie's face before they all looked up as the front door of the hospital suddenly swung open. A dull yellow Earth Pony trotted in, carrying a smaller dark brown colt on her back that she sat on a seat cushion before nuzzling his rather bedraggled green mane comfortingly and addressing the desk clerk with a worried expression. Volare glanced out the closing doors to see loose debris being blown about by the approaching storm and he frowned slightly. "Sorry to cut this short Trix, but if we don't get going, we're gonna get caught in the weather on the way to Sweet Apple Acres."

"Ah, yes, totally understandable," the magician nodded, scratching at where the IV entered her hoof. "I guess this is goodnight, then?"

"Mhm, seems that way-huh, what's up Applebloom?" the stallion looked down as the farm filly tugged on his wing.

"Uh, before we head back to tha farm..." she shuffled her hooves nervously. "Can Ah use tha bathroom?"

"Yeah, me too," Scootaloo smiled almost apologetically. "It's kinda a long walk there, ya know?" Volare fought the urge to roll his eyes, knowing this would probably mean they'd be walking through the rain, but who was he to deny them the need to answer nature's call?

"Heh, go on ahead...I might as well go too while I'm here. Night, Trix," he gave the Unicorn a nod and the trio headed for the restrooms. Trixie readjusted her hat and was about to head back to her own room when she noticed the young colt that had been brought in was staring at her through half-lidded eyes that very nearly matched his rich brown coat
Trixie pretended not to notice, but when the colt coughed weakly and wiped his mouth, the Unicorn felt something akin to a pang of sorrow for the young fellow. With a sigh and a thought of Trixie, what are you doing, the magician deviated from her path back to her room and sat down on the cushion adjacent to the colt, pretending to stretch and massage her "sore" rear left leg.

She observed the colt with a sidelong glance, and as he continued to stare up at her curiously, she noted the slightly green tinge in his cheeks, and how bloodshot and tired his eyes were; the poor guy probably hadn't had sleep for some time, and here she was complaining about the bedsheets being a little too wrinkled. She glanced up at the yellow Earth Pony mare that brought him in, but the mare was still speaking to the desk clerk, albeit in an increasingly distressed tone that worried the magician, and even though she had no idea who the colt was, she felt the strangest desire to keep him company while the other mare was away across the room. He certainly looked like he needed it...

"Ahhh, I've never liked hospitals, as useful as they might be," Trixie stated out loud, but received little response from the colt beyond a weak mhm of agreement. "So what're you in for, kid?"

"Huh, oh, um...I'm not feeling good-urp," he suppressed a small burp with a shaky hoof, squeezing his eyes shut and blushing as he did so. "Sorry...guess there's nothing left to come up anymore..." he shook his head and groaned, leaning forward and squinting at the floor. Trixie recoiled slightly as she realized he meant he had the stomach flu, but she still felt herself strangely drawn to the sickly child.

"Ah, I see...so is that your mom over there?" she nodded at the now upset-looking yellow mare who was shaking a hoof in the face of the startled desk clerk. "She seems pretty stressed out," Trixie stated plainly, to which the colt only nodded again. The magician sat for a moment in silence with a thoughtful frown on her face, no longer feigning stretching her back leg. Don't get involved Trixie, it's not your business... Even so, she couldn't help but look down at the sickly colt, who was now softly groaning with every labored breath; he didn't look good at all...not to mention those little noises were getting a bit annoying, or at least, that's what the blue Unicorn told herself at the time...but it probably wasn't the nicest thing to say out loud, so she decided she'd do something to quiet him down and stop those little whines that stirred something unfamiliar in her heart.

"Hey kid, um..." Trixie spoke up, drawing a sideways glance from the colt. "You like magic tricks?" she put on a show-mare grin and plucked the pointy hat from her head, revealing her glowing horn that the young pony stared at for a moment.

"Whoa, you're a Unicorn?" he gaped, to which Trixie grinned proudly.

"Hmmph, well of course I am; how else could I do feats of great-oh...um," she noticed the rather crestfallen expression on the colt's face, as if he'd just been scolded. Trixie looked back at his still preoccupied mother before giving him a more friendly smile. "I mean, yes I'm a Unicorn," she said in a gentler tone that perked him up again as she went back to waving a hoof over her upturned hat. "And I can do a few tricks if you wanna see. You like balloons? How about rabbits?" At his small smile, Trixie dramatically pursed her lips, squinted her eyes and reached into the hat, pulling out a long, long, long length of red balloon that by all accounts shouldn't haven been able to fit in the hat. With a chuckle at his awe-struck expression, Trixie zapped the balloon with her horn, and within moments, it twisted itself into the shape of a rabbit, complete with overly long ears.

The magician sat it on the cushion next to her, pretended to whisper something into the rabbit's ear, and to the colt's wonderment, it hopped over to him, landing on his lap and snuggling up against him before falling limp and floating up into the air. "Oops, he's getting away," she laughed and tied a length of black twine to the rabbit's tail, and the other end she looped around the colt's hoof, who continued to alternate a smile between the balloon animal and the magician, who simply sat her hat back on her head and leaned back with a grin. "You like him?"

"Heh-heh, yeah, he's great," the colt's brown eyes seemed a bit more lively than earlier as he tugged on the twine, making the rabbit bounce in mid-air before looking back down as the yellow mare approached the pair. "Mom, can they help?"

"No, I'm afraid not sweetie," she shook her head morosely. "They don't have any rooms available right now; apparently this stuff is going around. We're just going to have to wait till morning, so c'mon," she helped her son to his hooves, gave Trixie a short nod, and began carrying her son towards the front doors, leaving Trixie by herself. The magician sighed, not quite sure what to feel at the moment, and was about to head back to her room when a small voice caused her to turn back.

"Thanks for the bunny," the young colt smiled gratefully and waved weakly as his mom made to push the front doors open. Trixie stared back into the colt's brown eyes, a little happier now, but he needed more help than just balloon animals...the magician weighed her options, realized she felt like a selfish fool for doing so, and raised her voice across the commons.

"Hey, um ma'am!" she pulled her IV cart noisily along behind her, nearly tripping over the tube in her haste to catch the yellow mare, who turned to see who was speaking. "Wait just a second!"

"Yes?" the mother cocked her head. "I'm sorry, but I really can't chat; Loam here is very ill and I need to get him home," she nodded at the brown colt on her back. "So if you'll please excuse me."

"That's what I want you to wait for," Trixie smiled at the colt. "Loam, was it?"

"Mhm," he nodded.

"Well, Loam, you don't need to go anywhere, especially not in this weather," she waved a hoof at the whipping wind outside. With a determined nod of finality, Trixie regarded the pony behind the front desk. "Sir, you say there's no room available for young Loam here? What a clown show of a hospital you run," she chided the shocked desk clerk.

"I-it's not our fault, ma'am; the stomach bug is going around, and alot of ponies are catching it right now," he shrugged helplessly. "We're doing everything we can right now, but what do you want us to do? Start treating them and throwing down bedrolls in the lobby?"

"No, but I do know something you can do instead," Trixie leaned across the desk. "Check me out."

"Uh, I beg your pardon, miss?" the clerk queried at the sudden request.

"Did I stutter? Well, certainly not as much as you are right now," she rolled her dark violet eyes and snorted loudly. "Bill me out, get this damned IV out of my leg, and make sure Loam gets my room," her horn glowed almost threateningly beneath her hat as she leaned even further over the desk and curled her lip slightly. "Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"U-Uh-I-I, y-yes ma'am, y-you do," the clerk stuttered noticeably now as he ruffled through a pile of papers behind the desk. "B-but who will pay your bill? Unless you have the money on you? We just can't let you leave without you paying first." That put a damper on Trixie's mood, and she actually withdrew over the desk, chewing on her lower lip in thought and glancing back over her shoulder at Loam and his mother, who hadn't moved from their spot. Way to go, Trixie. You put on a show, wowed the audience, and then fell off the stage! Stupid!

"She doesn't," they all looked as Volare stepped forward from the hall leading to the bathrooms, Applebloom and Scootaloo right on his hooves. "But I do," he reached into his saddlebag, plunked down a sizeable bag full of bits and looked up at the clerk. "I think this'll do it," the Pegasus' statement brooked no argument, and the clerk, who'd seen Luna using the Royal Canterlot Voice mere feet away, Rainbow Dash and Twilight fighting, semi-threatened by Trixie, and now had this Pegasus with the most intense blue eyes he'd ever seen standing over him, had no real spirit left to argue, simply wishing for a long vacation as he filed Trixie's billing work. With that done, he buzzed an orderly that arrived swiftly, removed the IV from Trixie's leg, and escorted Loam back into the depths of the hospital, presumably towards Trixie's old room. As the magician's vision lingered fondly upon the colt until he was out of sight, she noticed Volare, Scootaloo, and Applebloom were looking her way and wearing strange little half-smiles.

"What?" Trixie asked in surprise. "Why're you smiling; what's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing funny Trixie," Scootaloo shook her head.

"More like sweet," Applebloom giggled, causing Trixie's cheeks to flush.

"Sweet? Pfft, I just wanted to get out of here and the kid gave me a good excuse to do so," she insisted with a shrug, but it wasn't fooling Volare in the slightest, and his grin simply widened. "What?!"

"Whether you wanna admit it or not, that was quite the noble thing you just did, Trixie," the Pegasus conceded respectfully. "And I have to agree with Applebloom: giving him that balloon to cheer him up was pretty sweet too."

"Wha-you saw that?" the Unicorn's eyes widened, expecting them to laugh at her. But when no snickering occurred, she let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. "How much did you see?"

"Pretty much from when you made him that balloon animal; what was it, exactly?" the stallion cocked his head.

"A bunny," Trixie muttered before opening her eyes and prodding Volare in the chest, "But that was no big deal, ok? I mean, you jumped into a falling building to save me, so in comparison, it was nothing. And we'll just leave it at that." She gave a dismissive wave of her hoof, prepared to pick up what little pride she had left, and leave, before a tug on her cape stopped her.

"It's a big deal to me, ma'am," Trixie turned to see the yellow mare standing there with a grateful smile on her face. "And to Loam. Thank you so much."

"Eh, don't mention it," the magician replied, still unsure of how to take this sort of praise; I mean, she hadn't even used fireworks or done much more than make a balloon animal hop. It was colt's play and it did't seem that amazing to her, so why make a big fuss over it?

"Well, at the very least, Loam wanted to know your name, as do I," the mare pressed.

"Oh, well, I'm the Great-well, know, that's not really true," the Unicorn rubbed her chin. "I used to call myself the Great and Powerful Trixie, but through a series of unfortunate events that you probably don't need to worry about and that I'd rather no reiterate, I think I just prefer going by Trixie for now."

"Well, Powerful or not," the mare grasped Trixie's hoof in her own for a moment, catching the magician by surprise. "You made my son happy in his sickness and gave up your room for him...and that's pretty great in my book. Thank you again, and good night." And with that, she released Trixie's hoof and hurried back into the depths of the hospital to find her son. The blue Unicorn stared down at her hoof for a moment, as if unsure if she should accept the thanks knowing that the mare's own hoof was probably covered in her son's germs, but also unsure if immediately wiping it off on her cape was the better choice of action, albeit rude...instead, she settled on subtly wiping it upon the floor (which she quickly realized probably wasn't much better) and shaking her head quickly before looking up at Volare and Co. who were still wearing those amused little smiles!

"Alright, alright, break it up; nothing to see here" The somewhat embarrassed Trixie half-barked, shoving her way through the trio and headed for the door. "You three got a plan of where I can stay besides standing there and grinning like foals?"

"Yep, we'll just drop you off at Twilight's," Volare chuckled, scooping up Applebloom and Scootaloo and following after the huffing Unicorn. "You sure you'll be ok, Trixie? You look a little...off."

"Yes, I'll be just fine, thanks," she nodded once and opened the door, through which a gust of wind blew that ripped the hat from her head and smacked it back against Volare's face. "Eesh, it got cold out there," she shivered against the autumn wind and snatched her hat back from Volare, who held it up in his mouth with a friendly smile. "Come on and get behind me; we'll push our way through this," Trixie announced, jamming the hat back on her head and conjuring a large blue and white umbrella. She glanced back, making sure Volare was behind her before forcing their way through the rising wind, headed west towards the Library.

.................

"Well, in the words of Spike: that was a bust," Scootaloo muttered, though "mutter" wasn't entirely accurate, as she had to practically shout to be heard over the wind whipping along the South Ponyville Road. They'd attempted to drop off Trixie at the Library, but when Spike greeted them at the door, he'd nearly leaped back in surprise at the sight of Trixie grumbling and cursing her head off at the wind trying to rip her umbrella away. The dragon quickly explained that Twilight was up in her room, already asleep and apparently wasn't feeling well or something. Volare offered to go up and check on her before Trixie told them about the stomach bug going around, that perhaps Twilight, like Pound, Pumpkin, and Loam, had picked it up too. Either way, Spike apologized, saying it probably wasn't the best thing to let in strange guests while Twilight was asleep anyways (no offense, Trixie).
Luckily, the generous Applebloom stepped up to help, offering Trixie a seat at their dinner table and a warm bed to spend such a chilly night in. Not one to turn down a warm meal and bed, the blue Unicorn agreed, and away they went into the heart of the gale that was baring down on Ponyville.

"Yeah, no kidding," Trixie replied, glancing up and shaking a hoof at Cloudchaser and Flitter, who were busy pushing clouds this way and that, although they'd spotted the trudging foursome and were doing their best to keep it from raining on them. "Can't you keep the wind down as well you two?! For Luna's sake," Trixie grumbled and rolled her eyes as the two Pegasi continued their weather duties, unable to hear her over the wind. "How much further is it to the farm?" the magician called back to Applebloom, who was tucked under one of Volare's wings, with Scootaloo snuggled under the other.

"Uh, about another 10 minutes er so," the filly peeped out from under the wing and spotted the old oak stump that served as a road marker just to the north of the path.

"Good, because I've about had enough of this mess!" Trixie growled, putting her head down and adding a fresh burst of magic to the umbrella to keep it from collapsing and flying away. "The things I'll do for a hot meal," she grumbled. Above them, flitting in and out of the base of the storm clouds, was a dark shape that never quite fully revealed itself from the gray fluff, preferring to peep out of the storm every few moments before diving back in, consistently staying above Volare and Co. as they made their way towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"Huh, what the hay was that?" Flitter could have sworn she saw somepony, almost certainly a Pegasus to be up this high, meandering about the western side of the cold front, but nopony she knew of, short of Rainbow Dash herself, would be crazy enough or skillful enough to navigate the unstable and dangerous base of a storm like this; what with lightning, rain, hail, and downbursts possible. The Pegasus stared at the storm base for a moment longer before deciding that it must have been a piece of debris caught in an updraft and rejoined her sister in guiding the storm over Ponyville, finally allowing it to dump its generous amount of rain upon the town.

But the shape peeked out of the storm one last time, making sure the ponies on the ground weren't looking up before gauging their almost certain destination: the apple orchard. With a crack of blue lightning that lit the sky and hid the creature from the ground below, it exited the storm and zipped from cloud to cloud, making absolutely certain it wasn't backlit by the moon before taking shelter within a stray cloud that had split off from the cold front. The cloud drifted subtly over the farm house, against the wind, before the creature leaped from it and landed lightly on the roof of the large red structure, hanging onto the weather-vane and folding its wings flat before hunkering down upon the roof shingles. It watched in rapt amusement and fascination as the foursome pushed forward through the wind that made the white picket fence creak as if it were about to take off, and finally up the hill towards the large red abode.

"Alright, I've had about enough of this!" Trixie announced about 20 feet from the front porch and whirled around, her violet eyes burning into Volare's blue ones with so much sudden intensity that he nearly toppled over onto his flank in fear; she was capable of tearing a building apart and despite her claims at reform, his mind froze for a moment in panic, unsure of exactly what she was about to do. The answer surprised him.

"Everytime I look behind me to make sure you three haven't been blown halfway across Equestria, I see you smiling or giggling, and you have been since I helped Loam in the hospital. Why?! You claim that it's nothing funny, yet you don't explain why you continue to act this way behind my back! I thought you were my friends!" she stomped a hoof and blinked hard, trying to hold back an angry tear that nevertheless managed to slip between her lashes and linger on her blue-furred cheek before she wiped it away with the collar of her cape. It was then that Volare realized that she wasn't being melodramatic, that she honestly feared that she was being betrayed by her only friends in the world.
"Well-huh?" Trixie's next question was cut off as the Pegasus stepped forward and wrapped her in a friendly embrace for a moment. She nearly lost her grip on the umbrella before Applebloom reached up and snatched it in her teeth, with Scootaloo holding onto her back hooves to keep her from blowing away. "Wh-what was that for now?" Trixie demanded as Volare released her and smiled softly.

"Because I'm sorry, Trixie," he explained plainly. "We just found it amusing that despite your pride keeping you from admitting it, we think you enjoyed helping Loam like that; as we said, it was very sweet, and it proves that you're changing just like you said you wanted to," he said sincerely. "It's my fault, and I should have said something earlier...just goes to show I'm still not very good at reading emotions here or Earth, or anywhere for that matter," he chuckled lightly as Trixie retook her hold on the umbrella.

"Well, that's because you're a stallion; they've never been good at it, for they lack a mare's intuition," she smirked and re-opened the umbrella, satisfied by his explanation for the moment. "Just...thanks," she leaned into him for a moment, and not in the direction the wind was blowing before nodding once and turning back to the porch and hesitating just outside the pool of golden light that spilled out of the crescent-shaped window above the front door.

"What's up, Trix?" Scootaloo peeped over Volare's shoulder and asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Applebloom chimed in. "Tha door's right there, an' on tha other side, all kindsa good food, a hot shower, and a warm bed."

"I uh...maybe you three should go on without me and I'll just wait out here; I'll be fine if you just bring me some food," Trixie suggested, zapping a large chunk of hay bale that was swept into the air and had been hurtling towards them, tossing aside to keep it from slamming into the four ponies. "See, perfectly safe!"

"Uh, yeah, right," Volare rolled his eyes and gave her a sidelong, skeptical glance. "What's eatin' ya, Trixie? You're gonna have to tell me cuz as we've already established, I'm terrible at this reading of emotions business for the most part."

"I just...fine," the Unicorn nodded once, mouthed the words she wanted to say as if rehearsing them, decided against the fancy way, and settled on just telling it plainly. "I know Applejack doesn't like me; none of Twilight's friends do and yet here I am, marching up to her front door and asking to be invited to dinner? Now even you have to admit, that's pretty rude, Volare."

"Yeah, 'cept ya'll don't have ta ask," Applebloom hopped off Volare's back and rang the cowbell hanging next to the door. "Ah already invited ya!"

"Ah right, um...but what if they don't like me anyway?" Trixie started throwing out excuses. "I mean, I don't know how to fraternize with country bumpkins; what do I say, huh?" She twiddled her hooves nervously on the ground. "What do I do-hell with it, goodbye!" she nearly lost her nerve and took off before Volare threw a hoof around her neck and pulled her back to the door. "Let go of me, Volare or so help me I'll blast you over the moon!"

"Eh, I don't think you have the mean-ness in your heart to do so, Trix," Volare chuckled as hoofsteps approached the door. "As for what to say and do: just relax. AJ and her family are very laid-back and easy to get along with, from what I've seen, plus you got me, Scoots, and Applebloom to vouch for you. Just hang loose and mingle; be polite but not too stiff. Oh, and I probably wouldn't refer to them as bumpkins if I were you," he chuckled.

"Mingle and be polite," Trixie savored the somewhat unfamiliar terms before nodding slightly. "Ok, I think I know what to do; I'll just do as they do," she grinned confidently.

"Yeah! Wait, what?" Volare managed to say before the door swung open a small crack and revealed the freckle-faced features of Applejack who looked down at her sister and smiled in relief that she hadn't been blown away by the storm. She kept a tight grip on the other side of the door to keep it from being sucked open by the wind as she spoke.

"Woo-ee, ya'll sure picked a high time ta go fer a trot, sugarcube," she patted her sister's windblown mane. "What took ya'll so long ta get back here?"

"Oh, Ah brought some guests outta tha bad weather, if'n that's ok with you, sis," Applebloom gave her the best winning smile she could muster, which only made Applejack chuckle all the more.

"Heh-heh, 'course it is, 'Bloom. Who'd ya bring?"

"Me!" Scootaloo jumped in through the door, nuzzling her cheek against the country mare's strong leg. "And my bro," she looked back as Volare craned his head around the edge of the door.

"Tha guest o' honor, of course," the green-eyed mare raised a hoof to her forehead in a motion of tipping her hat, which was of course hanging on a hook on the wall; no hats on in the house, don'tcha know.

"And one more," the Pegasus stallion announced with a smile, nodding his head back towards the rest of his body outside the door. "I hope she's not intruding, but she really didn't have anyplace else to go in this weather, AJ."

"Shucks, Volare," she hoofed him in the shoulder and laughed heartily. "Anypony ya'll bring here fer dinner is perfectly welcome-" the farmer swung the door open a bit further to catch sight of who this "one more" was...and halted mid-sentence. Volare looked from Applejack to Trixie, saw that they'd made eye contact, and held his breath. Oh boy, another moment of truth...

"Well, howdy there, pardner," Trixie replied with the cheesiest country accent Volare had ever heard, paired with an overly dramatic tip of her starry hat and a huge grin. "Lan' sakes alive, this here's a real twister of a storm if'n Ah ever saw one, eh?. Mind if'n we partake of some o' yer vittles n' fixin's afore we blow away ta starvation...er, yeehaw?" Volare simply stared in gape-jawed, incredulous silence before slowly turning back to Applejack and giving her the most apologetic smile he could muster. It quite obviously wasn't enough.

"...'cept you," Applejack snorted, while Volare, Scootaloo, and Applebloom combined for what was possibly the most epic triple facehoof in Equestrian history. Volare honestly didn't know which was the less-dangerous option at the moment: the raging storm behind them, or the glowering Earth Pony mare before them...he had a feeling it was the former. Great, now what?!

-----------------------------

Notes: I'm cutting the chapter off right here, otherwise, it's gonna get just a little bit too long ^^;
What's gonna happen now? Will Trixie get bucked out into the storm, or will Applejack relent? On the plus side, Trixie seems to be alot nicer (albeit almost awkwardly so).
Tune in next time to find out (and it'll be the last section of Inseptium Nova, so watch out!)

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