Rainbow Dash didn’t like sitting around doing nothing, but she had to admit, there was a certain pleasure from sitting down with her friends, looking up at Luna’s beautiful night sky, and just clearing your mind and forgetting all of your troubles. At least, that’s what she would like to do. But there were two things that have been weighing heavy on her mind recently.
“Rainbow, are you ok?”
Rainbow snapped out of her thinking and turned to Twilight, who was looking at her with concern. “Huh? Uh, yeah. I’m fine, totally!” Rainbow laughed. “Why d’ya ask?”
“Well…You’ve been eating from that empty bag for five minutes now.”
Rainbow looked down to discover that the bag of potato chips that she had been eating from was empty, and realised that her hoof was just reaching in and pulling nothing out whilst she had been lost in thought.
“Ye’re thinkin’ ‘bout yer mother, aren’tcha?” Applejack asked. “Yah gotta stop worryin’ ‘bout such stuff, Dash. Yah can’t let yer whole life be affected by this.”
Rainbow Dash stared at Applejack for a moment, and then looked over the rest of the group. Everypony present was smiling at her, and offered their own words of comfort. She felt warm, and safe. She felt like, if she still had her friends, she could overcome any of life’s problems.
“Yeah, you’re right,” she said, looking down and scratching the back of her head. “Sorry about that…”
“Don’t apologize!” Pinkie Pie shouted, passing a glass of punch to Rainbow Dash, “Just smile and laugh with us! Friends are supposed to have fun together, not be all sad and gloomy together!”
Rainbow laughed and took the glass from Pinkie. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind!” Rainbow stood up and stretched her wings. “Man, sitting down for too long just isn’t my style. I’m gonna go fly ‘round for a bit!”
Rarity was about to object, but was stopped by Applejack. “Alright, Sugarcube. Just don’t be late! Twi’s been planning this day for weeks now.”
Twilight blushed and lifted her book up higher, to hide her face. The rest of the group laughed, and Rainbow Dash took off into the night sky. It felt nice having the wind blow against your face, and through your mane. It really helped to cool the blue Pegasus off, and helped her to think more clearly.
‘My mother aside…I have a sister? I wonder who she is?…I hope she’s ok.’
““Great and Powerful Trixie”? Yeah right! What exactly makes you “great and powerful”?”
Trixie waved her hoof dismissively and tutted. Another neighsayer, great. ‘I know how to deal with this one.’
“Well? You gonna say something?”
“…Your Cutie Mark,” Trixie began, pointing to the stallion’s Cutie Mark, which was a frying pan with flames beneath it, “It shows your special talent of cooking, does it not?”
“That’s right. So what?”
“Well, then. The Great and Powerful Trixie challenges you: anything you can do, I can do better!” Trixie grinned as the stallion walked up onstage, fully ready to take on the boastful showmare. “You shall soon see, that there is nothing that the Great and Powerful Trixie cannot do!”
Trixie gazed up at the starry sky above her, smiling as she relaxed after another successful show. Only one heckler this time…It felt nice to have a break for once. “What a beautiful night. I wonder if Trixie’s sister is watching this same sky right now?”
“Miss Trixie?” Trixie looked down to see a small filly looking up at her. “Can you sign this?” She held up a sheet of paper, which had the Cutie Mark of Hocus Pocus, a magician with great renown. The filly was a Unicorn, and was wearing a small light blue wizard hat.
Trixie grinned and levitated a quill to the paper. “There. Display it proudly, little one. Are you also a magician?”
The filly nodded, and struck a pose, holding her left forehoof to her hat. “The Amazing Mist Veil, soon to be number one Unicorn in all of Equestria!” The filly took the paper and grinned at Trixie. “Keep my seat warm, Trixie! I’ll be taking it from you one day.”
Trixie grin grew wider, and she let out a small laugh. “Well, it looks like Trixie will have to keep her eye on you. After all, while Trixie can’t have anypony upstaging her, it would be nice if someday a worthy opponent shows up.”
The filly thanked Trixie again for the autograph, and ran over to her parents, who were waiting to the side. Trixie noticed that the stallion who had interrupted her show was also there, and guessed that he was the young filly’s older brother.
“Good luck,” Trixie said to the retreating filly, before turning her gaze back up to the sky above. “…Tomorrow, Trixie will head to Ponyville. It’s finally time to meet them…” Trixie’s face turned sour, and she suddenly found her unable to enjoy the night sky that she loved so much any longer. “The family that threw Trixie away, like she was trash.”
Trixie panted with exhaustion, and her entire body was soaked in sweat from travelling in the hot sun for five straight hours. She knew she should have taken a break a few hours ago, but she wanted to get to Ponyville quickly. She found it hard to work up an appetite or get any rest recently; the sudden knowledge that she had a sister, and the knowledge of her sister’s whereabouts, was hefty weight on the showmare’s mind.
“Trixie will take a bath…Get some lunch…And then prepare for her show,” Trixie said to herself, reciting her mental checklist. “Trixie will need to unwind a little bit…”
Trixie stopped her trailer when she saw the small town in the distance, and turned her attention to the sounds of a colt and two fillies playing in the field to her right. They were cheering and laughing with each other, whilst passing a ball around. They looked so happy…It was obvious that they lived in a world without worry. Trixie began to feel sick, but she wasn’t sure why. Was she jealous of these foals? Or was she simply nervous about meeting her sister?
Whatever the case, Trixie ignored her aching stomach and proceeded on her way to Ponyville. Maybe she was just hungry. She decided to have some lunch first, and bathe afterwards.
Twilight exited the Ponyville library and hummed a cheery tune as she skipped down the street. Today had been a good day for the young librarian; she finished two of the crosswords in her puzzle book, she managed to finish organising the library’s collection a whole hour early, and she got to have a nice, lengthy chat with Rarity about the finer points constellations and star signs. Well, whether or not Rarity thought of it as a chat was a different story, but still…Today was really looking up for the purple Unicorn.
“Come one, come all!”
“…What?”
“Come and witness-”
“…You’ve got to be kidding me…”
“-the amazing magical talents-”
Twilight turned her head to see a crowd gathered around in the town square, and at the front of that crowd…
“-of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
The wooden trailer in front of the crowd opened up, and a small stage folded out from the side. Twilight noticed that it wasn’t as big as the last one that Trixie had used, but she seemed to compensate for that by using lights and other special effects to draw focus to the centre, where the blue showmare herself stood on her hind legs, striking a dramatic pose as fireworks shot up into the sky.
“Come and witness the most amazing feats of magic ever witnessed by ponykind!”
Twilight sighed and watched as Trixie began her magic show by summoning a bouquet of flowers, and then throwing it up into the air, before it exploded into beautiful flower-shaped fireworks. “Well, so much for this being a peaceful day…” Twilight started to walk towards the crowd, her curiosity taking over her. “But, I’m happy to see she’s doing ok. I was kind of worried about her since the last time she- Oh no.”
Twilight watched with worry as a certain blue Pegasus with rainbow mane approached the stage from the sky. She was sure that this wasn’t going to end well, and started to push her way through the crowd, in order to reach the stage.
“You’re still doing this!?” Rainbow Dash shouted as she reached the stage, where Trixie was focusing on a spell, her eyes closed as she meditated. “Don’t you remember what happened last time? We know you’re not “great and powerful”, Trixie!”
Trixie’s scrunched her face in anger, and almost lost control of her illusion spell. She managed to maintain it, though, and the audience cheered as her spell conjured up an image of herself defeating a pack of timberwolves. Finally, she opened her eyes and faced whoever was shouting at her. “Who dares to bring the Great and Powerful Trixie’s talents into quest-”
Trixie froze as she saw her. Rainbow Dash. The winner of the Best Young Flier’s Competition, the second Pegasus to ever perform a Sonic Rainboom (though many believe she’s the only one), the bearer of the Element of Loyalty, and…Trixie’s sister.
Trixie felt her stomach ache from earlier return, and with much more fury this time. She wasn’t ready yet. She wanted some time to prepare, to watch her target, and work out how she was going to approach her…And whether it would be on friendly terms on not.
In hindsight, it probably wasn’t a good idea to put on a show and attract a lot of attention if she didn’t want to be found just yet.
‘What should I do? I’m not ready to talk to her yet! Damnit, why did she have to show up now!?’ Trixie looked at her audience, which were eagerly awaiting Trixie’s response to Rainbow’s interruption. ‘No. For now, I have to concentrate on the show. And anypony who disturbs the Great and Powerful Trixie’s show will be put into their place!’
Trixie’s horn glowed, and Rainbow Dash backed up and raised her forehooves, ready for a fight. “C’mon, show me what ya got! I’m ready for ya this time!”
Trixie wanted to do a whole number of things. Summon a lightning bolt to startle the blue Pegasus, literally zip her mouth shut with a certain spell, change the colour and style of her hair to something less “cool”…Any of these, she would have done without hesitation, except that something was holding her back right now.
‘Why am I hesitating? I should just…’ Trixie looked into her younger sister’s eyes, and felt something strange in her mind. She wasn’t sure what it was, but…Whatever it was, it was stopping her from humiliating Rainbow Dash right in front of everypony in the crowd. ‘…Damnit.
A purple glow surrounded Rainbow’s body, startling her. Twilight finally made it to the front of the crowd, and gasped when she saw Trixie already casting some kind of spell on her friend. “Oh no, I’m too late…”
Rainbow’s body began to move, and despite all of her struggling, she couldn’t regain control of her body. Rainbow Dash glared and grunted at Trixie as she was moved towards the crowd…And planted gently beside Twilight. The purple aura disappeared, and the entire crowd, including Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, looked up at Trixie with surprised faces.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie is busy! If you wish to speak with Trixie, please wait until after the show! It is rude to interrupt somepony whilst they are performing!”
Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what to think. She was expecting Trixie to act in a similar way to last time, but instead, she handled the situation in a much more civil manner.
Twilight put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, alerting Rainbow Dash to her presence. “Well, thank Celestia that didn’t turn out so bad…”
“Hmph! Don’t think I’m through with her yet!” Rainbow shouted, shooting up into the air, before being pulled back by Twilight’s magic on her tail. “Huh? Hey, what’re you-”
“Rainbow,” Twilight said sternly, “She’s just performing for us. If you don’t like it, why don’t you just ignore it?”
“But!” Rainbow looked at Twilight, who was staring back with narrowed eyes. She let out a deep sigh, and landed on the ground. “Alright, fine! I’ll just go…”
Twilight smiled and released her magical grip on her friend’s tail. “Thank you, Rainbow…Though, personally, I think it’s quite good,” she said, turning to watch Trixie as she used her magic to summon a swarm of parasprites, which began to dance to the sound of some music.
The crowd was a little uneasy at first, seeing the adorable yet nightmarish creatures onstage. Trixie assumed that this small town had never seen a parasprite before, and decided to use their cuteness to win the crowd over. When the crowd saw that the parasprites were being quite tame, they began to calm down, and enjoy the cute little act. All except for Rainbow Dash, who sulked as she flew away from the town square.
Once Trixie’s show was finished, the ponies in the crowd were quick to disperse and continue with their daily lives, but not before giving Trixie one last round of applause. Trixie exited her trailer and looked around for the pony she was looking for, before feeling a tug at her cape. She looked down to see two colts looking up at her, with big smiles on their faces.
Trixie recognised these two colts. They were faces that were engraved in her memory, ever since the night of that incident. She scowled at the two colts before her, but they didn’t seem to notice. “Miss Great and Powerful Trixie!” one of them, the small, chubby one, started, “That was a great show! Are you gonna perform again soon?”
Trixie shook the two colts off, knocking them down onto their flanks, and turned away, without saying a word. She found her target walking towards a nearby restaurant, and began to walk towards her, ignoring the two colts.
Trixie approached the purple Unicorn sitting at a table outside of a restaurant, looking through a menu that was being held in her magic. She cleared her throat to gain the pony’s attention, and tipped her hat as she greeted her. “Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight nodded, looking confused. “Trixie would like to speak with you about…Your friend.”
Trixie closed the copy of Daring Do and the Time Sceptre that she was reading, and placed it back onto the bookshelf. She sighed and looked over at the clock. 1:35. Twilight asked Trixie to visit the library later, and that they could talk then. Trixie, however, didn’t feel like sitting around doing nothing, so she decided to drop by the library early, and just read some books until Twilight returned.
“Let’s see…Daring Do and the Tome of Flames, one of my favourites in the series…Trixie wishes Sparkle would just hurry up already!”
“You and me both,” said the small purple dragon sitting nearby, building a tower out of cards…A rather impressive one, Trixie noticed. “I had plans to go help Rarity, but I can’t leave the library when there’s still a visitor inside!”
“Trixie apologizes,” she said sarcastically, “But Trixie has urgent business with Sparkle, something which definitely trumps your rendezvous with your friend.”
“Ran-deh-wha?” Spike asked, turning to Trixie with a confused look on his face.
Trixie raised her eyebrow at Spike, and looked at him quizzically. “Trixie thought you were supposed to be Sparkle’s “number one assistant”.” Spike muttered something angrily under his breath, and turned back to his card tower. “It means to meet up with somepony at an arranged time and place.”
“Oh…Why couldn’t you just say that? Anyway, it’s not like we had planned to meet up with each other today. I was just gonna drop by is all.”
“Then there’s no problem,” Trixie said, pulling out a book from a bookshelf and opening it up. “Well, except for Sparkle taking her sweet time doing…Whatever it is she’s doing.”
“Knowing her, reading books in the park.” Spike rolled his eyes and placed another card on top of his tower. “Her idea of getting out more. What d’you need her for, anyway?”
“Something important.”
Spike’s tower collapsed, and he let out a disappointed sigh. “Yeah, you told me that. But what exactly is it that’s so important?”
“…Trixie would prefer not to say until Sparkle is here.”
Spike began gathering the cards into a pile, and checked under the table to make sure that non had fallen to the floor. “Just so I know, this doesn’t have anything to do with what happened last time, right?”
Trixie tilted her head to her side. ““What happened last time”?”
“You know, the whole Ursa Minor thing, and Twilight showing you up?”
Trixie frowned and turned her head away from the baby dragon. “Oh, that. Trixie cares not for that incident.” Trixie turned back to Spike and glared at him. “And just so we’re clear, Trixie could have easily wiped the floor with that beast! The only reason she didn’t is because it would have put the town at risk!”
“Right, right. Sure you could,” Spike said, not buying it at all. Well, he didn’t buy the first part at least, but something about her story and her actions that day stood out to him. “…Is that why you used such pathetic spells on it? Like a small rope, and a tiny lightning bolt?”
Trixie didn’t answer, and instead pretended to be deeply absorbed into her book. Spike continued. “It takes courage to stand up to something like that, but what you did wasn’t standing up to it…It was just angering it with obviously useless techniques. Anypony would have known that they wouldn’t work.”
“Trixie’s plan was to gain its undivided attention, and then lure it away, so that she could vanquish it without the town being at risk,” she said, before turning her whole body so that her back was to the dragon.
Spike stared at her for a few moments, and then turned back to his pile of cards, sorting them out to restart his tower. ‘Please, who does she think she’s fooling? Even if she did lure it away, she’d stand no chance against it! She’d only end up-’
Spike paused when the thought crossed his mind, and he looked back at Trixie, who was suddenly being very quiet. She wasn’t even mumbling to herself as she read from her book, like she was earlier. Spike’s eyes widened, and he stood up quickly, knocking his tiny card tower down. “You were planning on dying!?”
Trixie jumped and suddenly turned around, staring at Spike with wide eyes. “W-What are you yelling about all of a sudden?”
“You were planning on letting that thing kill you, weren’t you!?”
Trixie’s eyes narrowed, and she shot Spike a deadly glare. “Of course not! Trixie would never allow herself to die from such a thing! Trixie told you, an Ursa Major is no problem for her, and an Ursa Minor is even easier!”
“Yeah, that’s the story you tell, to make yourself look good!” Spike said, recalling what Trixie admitted the night of the Ursa Minor attack. “And that’s just it! You want to look good, which means that, if you were going to die…”
“You think Trixie would have herself die protecting a small, helpless little village, just to improve her image?”
“I do,” Spike said, staring Trixie in the eyes. Trixie flinched, and turned her head away. “I might not be as smart as Twilight, but somehow, I can tell…You would do anything to make yourself look good in the eyes of other ponies.”
Trixie growled and punched the floor with a forehoof. “…It’s none of your business,” she said, placing her book down and walking towards the stairs of the library. “It’s none of your damn business how Trixie lives her life!”
“Hey, wait-” Spike said, but was too late. Trixie bolted up the stairs, and Spike heard a door slam shut. Upstairs was his and Twilight’s room, and as it wasn’t a part of the library, Trixie wasn’t allowed up there, but…“If there’s one thing I’ve learned since living in Ponyville, it’s to not bother a mare when she’s angry…”
Spike heard the front door of the library open, and turned around to see Twilight walking in. “Hello, Spike,” she said as entered. “I thought you were going to help Rarity today?”
“Well, I was going to, but then somepony came by, so I had to stay here,” Spike said in an annoyed tone, preparing for attempt #3 at building a card tower.
“Oh? Who?” Twilight asked, before seeing the purple hat and cape on a hanger by the door. “Oh, her.” She looked around, but couldn’t find any sign of the blue showmare. “So, where is she?” Spike pointed a claw towards the stairs. “What!? Why is she upstairs!?…Spike, you didn’t start a fight with her, did you?”
Spike stopped his work and quickly shook his head. “No, I didn’t! I just…” Spike sighed, and looked down at the floor.
Twilight walked past Spike and began to walk up the stairs. “Don’t worry, Spike. I’ll handle this.” Spike turned to face her, and she shot a smile at the baby dragon. “Why don’t you go and help Rarity?”
Spike jumped up excitedly, and ran over to the door. “Thanks, Twilight! See ya later!”
Twilight laughed at Spike’s sudden revival, and then continued to walk up the stairs. She stopped when a familiar blue Unicorn crossed her path, and walked past her, down to the lower floor of the library. “It’s about time you came back,” Trixie said, walking over to a nearby desk and taking a seat on the cushion in front of it.
Twilight rolled her eyes and walked over to Trixie, standing in front of her. “Y’know, most ponies would say “thank you for seeing me on such short notice”, or something to that effect.”
“Most ponies would care,” Trixie said flatly, “But Trixie does not. She simply wants whatever information you can give her, and then Trixie will be on her way.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. Information? What did that have to do with her “friend”? “And why should I give you this information, with how rude you’re being?”
Trixie levitated a sack of bit from her nearby cloak, and presented it to Twilight. “If this isn’t enough, Trixie can also offer other services. Trixie is an expert when it comes to cooking and cleaning.”
“You are?” Twilight asked, trying to work out whether or not this was another one of stories to make her look good.
“Yes. It’s a necessity for ponies who live alone. Why, Trixie wagers you would be quite good at such tasks, if you didn’t have that baby dragon with you.”
Twilight stared at the bag of bits hovering in front of her, and then back at Trixie. She sighed and sat down in front of the other mare. “It’s ok, Trixie. You don’t need to pay me anything…Just stop being so unpleasant, and I’ll help you out.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “All you want is for Trixie to mind her manners?” Twilight nodded, and Trixie, still unsure if this was a trick or not, stowed her bag back into her cloak, and forced a smile onto her face. “Trixie will try, but she’s not making any promises, Miss Sparkle.”
Twilight was taken aback by the showmare’s sudden change in speech. Both her tone of voice, and the words she used, accompanied by her friendlier expression on her face…It was like looking at an entirely different pony. “So…You can be pleasant when you want to be?”
“The two of us grew up under very different circumstance, so Trixie does not expect you to understand. But for a showmare like Trixie, acting is a simple matter, Miss Sparkle.”
Twilight frowned. She was being too formal. “Look, Trixie, you don’t have to go that far. Just no insults, no talking down on me or my friends, and for the love of Celestia, just call me Twilight. Please?”
“…Trixie will try, Sparkle. But you’ll have to excuse Trixie if the occasional slipup occurs. Even when acting, Trixie finds it difficult not to build herself up at the cost of others.”
“And why’s that?”
“When one grows up on the streets, one’s only defence is to assert your dominance, and-” Trixie stopped herself and cleared her throat. “Trixie came here for information, not for a tour through Trixie’s psyche.”
Twilight, not even realising that she had gone into psychologist mode, quickly collected herself, and levitate a thick binder over to her. “Right! Sorry about that!” she said, before opening her binder to its index page. “So, what kind of information are you looking for? I’ll see what kind of books I can find.”
“Trixie thinks you misunderstand,” Trixie said, lowering the binder with her hoof, and staring into Twilight’s eyes. “Trixie wants information about…” ‘Gah! What’s going on!? Why am I shaking!? Am I nervous? This is pathetic! I’ve just got to ask her, and…Her eyes are pretty big…They’re purple, like mine. They look good…What!? Why am I focusing so much on her eyes!?’
Twilight tilted her head, and was about to ask Trixie if she was ok, but the showmare cleared her throat, and continued. “Trixie would like whatever information you – that’s you personally – can give her about your friend.”
Twilight was very confused at this point. She put her binder to one side, and moved closer to Trixie. She didn’t catch the hint of red across Trixie’s face, and Trixie didn’t know why it appeared. “What do you mean? Which friend?”
“…The one from earlier. Rainbow Dash.” Trixie saw the look Twilight was giving her. It was a look that was easy to read: “Why do you want to know about her?” is what that look said. “Rainbow Dash is…Trixie’s younger sister…”
“Trixie? As in, the Great ‘n’ Powerful Trixie? That loudmouth braggart who couldn’t put her money where her mouth was?”
Rainbow Dash nodded, and followed her friend Applejack over to the next apple tree. “Yeah, that’s the one. She put on a show in the town square, just like last time! Can you believe the nerve she has?”
“Well, ain’t none of our business,” Applejack said, before turning around and bucking the tree. A number of apples fell from its branches, and landed in the baskets around the tree. “If yah don’t like it, just ignore it. No point wastin’ time on somepony yah don’t like.”
“Not you, too,” Rainbow Dash sulked. Applejack looked at her quizzically. “Twilight said the same thing. That I should just ignore Trixie if I don’t like her.”
“An’ you should listen to her,” Applejack said, walking over to another tree and bucking it. “Why don’t yah just go fly ‘round an’ cool yer head off or somethin’? Better than getting’ into a pointless fight with some flashy show-off, ‘specially when yah consider how that worked out for yah last time.”
Rainbow Dash groaned, and soared up into the sky. ‘Great, first Twilight, and now even Applejack is stickin’ up for her! Big deal if she got me last time, this time I’ll-’ Rainbow Dash stopped when she recalled her encounter with Trixie earlier that day. ‘What was up with that, anyway? Why didn’t she try something like that this time?’
Rainbow Dash passed by the Ponyville hospital during her flight, and she looked towards the room that her mother had moved to last week. She stopped for a moment, and then continued flying. ‘This is so stupid. I can’t let Trixie get to me…I have more important things to worry about.’
“Rainbow Dash…Please find your sister, Will-o-Wisp, and tell her…Tell her I’m sorry. Tell her…I’ve always wished, that I could find her, and make up…For abandoning her…”
“She said that, but how the hay am I supposed to find her? I don’t even know if she’s…” ‘Alive or not…’
“I’m sorry, Trixie. You’ll have to run that by me again,” Twilight said, rubbing a forehoof against her forehead. “Rainbow Dash is your what now?”
“You heard the Great and Powerful Trixie,” Trixie said, trying to remain calm. “Trixie found out just recently…Just a week ago, actually. Rainbow Dash is Trixie’s younger sister.” Trixie leaned against the table next to her, resting her head on one of her forehooves. “Well, we’re twins, but Trixie came out first.”
“Trixie…This isn’t some kind of elaborate trick, is it?” Twilight asked sceptically. “I mean, Rainbow Dash has never said anything about having a sister before.”
“And Trixie isn’t surprised.” Twilight leaned closer to listen to Trixie’s story. “…Trixie is thirsty. Would you mind bringing Trixie something to drink?”
Twilight blinked a few times, and then rose to her hooves. “Sure, just wait right here. Is tea ok?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
Twilight walked over to the kitchen to prepare the tea, and when she was gone, Trixie closed her eyes, and thought about her current situation. She decided to ask Twilight for help because she seemed to be close to Rainbow Dash, but what if this was all a big mistake? What if Twilight had no intention of helping Trixie, or wasn’t as close to Rainbow Dash as Trixie thought?
Trixie opened her eyes when she heard Twilight approaching, and caught the scent of the tea that she was carrying. ‘Well, it’s too late now to go back now.’ Trixie picked up one of the cups of tea and took a sip of it. “Thank you.”
Twilight levitated her own cup up, and drank from it. “So, about Rainbow Dash…Being your sister…”
“It’s all true,” Trixie said, taking another drink before setting her cup down on the table beside her. “Though Trixie doubts Rainbow Dash knows any of this. After all, our parents, whoever they are, abandoned Trixie, when she was just a newborn foal.”
Twilight’s eyes widened, and she almost choked on her tea. “Ok, now I know you’re lying! I’ve met Rainbow’s mother, and I can’t imagine she would ever do something like that!”
Trixie shrugged and faced the floor. “Trixie has no idea, but according to the matron, Trixie was abandoned at the Canterlot orphanage when she was only a few months old, and according to the doctor who analysed Trixie’s blood, Trixie’s sister is indeed Rainbow Dash.”
“But that’s…Impossible…”
“Are you doubting the power of science, Twilight Sparkle? Trixie assures you, she had the doctor check multiple times, and there’s no mistaking it. Rainbow Dash is Trixie’s little sister.”
Twilight paused for a few minutes, thinking about what Trixie was saying. Was this just a trick? Why go so far? What could she possibly gain from this? And if it was a trick, wouldn’t it make sense to come up with something more believable? “Is that why you didn’t humiliate her earlier, when she interrupted your show?”
Trixie stared at Twilight for a moment, and then nodded slowly. “Maybe. Trixie’s not so sure, to be honest. She just…Felt like going easy on Rainbow Dash, for some reason.”
Twilight examined Trixie closely. She didn’t look like she was lying, and there was no hint of maliciousness coming from the showmare. Twilight felt that Trixie was being sincere…“Ok, let’s say for argument’s sake that I believe you…Why exactly did you come to me?”
Trixie lifted her cup up and drank the rest of her tea in one big gulp. It was obvious that she was nervous. “Trixie would like to know what you think of Rainbow Dash. And how you think Trixie should approach her.”
“…Well, I guess the first thing you should do is just try greeting her normally, but she can be stubborn, so maybe I can introduce you to her.”
“No, Trixie doesn’t mean that,” Trixie said, “Trixie wants to know whether or not Trixie should approach her sister on friendly terms.”
Twilight titled her head to her side, not following what Trixie was saying. “Uh…Sure? I mean, why wouldn’t you?”
“Because…Because Trixie’s family abandoned her…Trixie doesn’t think she can forgive them for that, but Rainbow Dash was only a foal at the time, just like Trixie. Basically, Trixie wants to know whether she should give Rainbow Dash a chance.”
There was silence between the two Unicorns for about a minute, and Twilight collected her thoughts and thought about how she felt towards her own family. Trixie was right; the two grew up under very different circumstances. Trixie’s lived a life that Twilight couldn’t even imagine, and any advice the librarian could give to her would probably do no good.
“I think…” Trixie leaned forward, eager to hear anything that would help put her mind at ease. “This is a decision that you should make for yourself.” Trixie fell flat on her face. Twilight could see that that wasn’t the kind of advice that she wanted, but it was really all that she could offer. She wasn’t an expert on this kind of thing, after all. “But, if you want, you can stay here and think about it,” she said, placing a comforting hoof on Trixie’s shoulder.
Trixie looked up at the smiling librarian, and smiled back. ‘Wait, why am I smiling? Stop that!’ Trixie corrected her face by turning her smile into a frown, and turned around so that she was facing outside the window. “Trixie appreciates that…Somehow, Trixie finds that being surrounded by books helps her to think better.”
“Really? It’s the same with me, too!” Twilight exclaimed, her face beaming as she moved closer to Trixie. “Oh, sorry! You probably want some silence, right? I’ll just be over here, if you need me.”
Trixie turned her head slightly to watch Twilight walk away. She found herself staring at Twilight’s flank, and snapped her head away out of it quickly. ‘Concentrate, Trixie! You’ve gotta work this out!’
Rainbow Dash huffed as she leaned the back of her head against the tree behind her. Flying only helped for a short while, and now, she decided to try taking a nap, to clear her mind. She had found a nice, secluded spot in the Whitetail woods, and was resting at the foot of a tree. It was nice and quiet, and there was a pleasant breeze blowing through all of the trees. It helped to put the young Pegasus’ mind at ease.
“Oh? There’s somepony else here?” Rainbow’s eyes snapped open. She recognised that voice. She shot up and turned her head to the source of the voice, and her suspicions were confirmed. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Uh, no, I was already awake!” Rainbow Dash said, rising up to her hooves. “I, uh, didn’t expect to see anypony out here.”
“Yeah, same here,” Swift said as he approached Rainbow Dash. Swift was a Pegasus, just a little taller than Rainbow Dash, with an ocean-blue coat, and grey, spiky hair. His Cutie Mark was a wing with, three thing lines coming off of it, as if it were moving at a high speed.
“Um, n-nice to meet ya! My name’s Rainbow Dash.”
“I know,” Swift said, approaching the rainbow-maned Pegasus, “I’m…Actually a fan of yours.” Swift blushed and turned his head to the side. “Nice to meet you. My name’s Swift.”
‘OhmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmyGOSH! Is he serious? He’s a fan of me?’ Rainbow saw Swift looking her way, and shook off the goofy smile that she found herself wearing. “So, uh, you come out here often?”
“Yeah. I find it’s a good place to come when I want to clear my mind…Is that why you’re here? You got something weighing on your mind?” Swift quickly raised a forehoof to his mouth. “Oh, sorry! You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to!”
“…No, it’s cool. There actually is something I’m worrying about. I think…Having somepony listen to me may help.”
Swift smiled and walked closer to Rainbow Dash. “I’ll be happy to listen, if you think it’ll help.”
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER GRAND ENTRANCE MAKER!”
Trixie screamed as she dropped the hot tea she was holding onto her lap. A few colourful words later, and Twilight quickly erected a soundproof bubble around the flailing showmare. Twilight then turned to the front door of the library, where a surprised Rarity and Sweetie Belle stood at the door, staring with wide eyes at Trixie, who was still screaming inside her bubble.
“Rarity, what does *squee* mean?”
“S-Sweetie Belle!” Rarity scolded, turning to her sister, “That’s not something you need to know!”
“What about *buysomeapples*?”
Rarity looked as if she was about to explode, but Twilight managed to step in just in time to save the day. “Sweetie Belle, those words aren’t very nice, and you shouldn’t say them around other ponies.”
“You shouldn’t say them, period!” Rarity added.
“But she did,” Sweetie Belle said, pouting as she pointed at Trixie, who seemed to have calmed down, and who was now banging on the side of the bubble. “Why can she say them and I can’t?”
“Well, you’re just not old enough, Sweetie Belle,” Twilight said, trying not to be too strict with the young filly. ‘This is really more of a job for her parents.’
“I don’t get it. How can you be too young to say certain words?”
“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said, placing a hoof on her sister’s shoulder, “We’ll talk about this later. But for now, don’t we have something else we should be doing?”
Sweetie Belle’s face suddenly lit up, and she took in a large breath, and shouted: “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER RESEARCHER!”
Sweetie Belle ran into the library, and started searching the bookshelves at the back. Twilight walked up to Rarity and asked her what was going on. “Oh, I’m dreadfully sorry to disturb you like this, Twilight,” Rarity said, “You see, I agreed to help Sweetie Belle with a school project, and part of it requires us to do some research.”
“What’s the project?” Twilight asked. “Maybe I can help you find the right kind of books?”
“Thank you, Twilight. The project is on Equestrian history, a subject I’m forced to admit isn’t my strong point.”
Twilight smiled and closed the door behind Rarity with her magic. “Don’t worry about it. We all have our weak points. C’mon, I’ll help you find some good books to use.”
“Thank you again, dear. And Twilight?” Rarity pointed a hoof over at Trixie, who had stopped banging on the side of the bubble a while ago, and was now sitting down back at the table. “Why is Trixie here?”
Twilight sighed, and released the bubble around Trixie. “It’s a long story. I’d prefer not to get into it…And I think Trixie would prefer it, too.”
Rarity tilted her head, wondering what Twilight meant by that. Twilight gave a look that said “don’t ask”, and Rarity decided to just leave it alone. “Well, alright then.” Rarity turned her head to face the showmare. “Trixie!” she called out, gaining her attention, “I’ll forgive you for turning my hair green if you promise not to use any more of that…Colourful vocabulary…Around my sister anymore, ok?”
Trixie scoffed and turned away. “Like Trixie cares if you forgive her or not. What, did Trixie zap you with lightning or something?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You don’t remember?”
“Trixie deals with hecklers all the time. It’s par for the course as a travelling performer. It would be a pain to remember each and every one.”
“…I see. Well, can you at least try to watch your language when my sister’s around?”
“Trixie sees no reason why she should make an effort, but as long as nothing happens to anger Trixie, then there shouldn’t be a problem.”
Twilight walked over to Trixie and leaned down to whisper into her ear. “Hey, I thought you were going to be more pleasant.”
“Trixie agreed to be more pleasant with you, Sparkle,” Trixie said, before shifting her gaze over to the young filly pulling out books randomly and then flinging them to the ground. “Anyway, it looks like you have bigger things to worry about.”
Twilight turned around to find Sweetie Belle making a mess over by a bookshelf at the back of the room. Trixie tried to drown out the sounds of Twilight talking the other two Unicorns through some of the history books available to them, but the three ponies were being rather loud, and she eventually found herself turning around to face them.
She set her gaze on the two sisters. They were sitting next to each other, reading through the same book, with big smiles on their faces. Occasionally, Rarity would turn the page before Sweetie Belle was finished with it, and the latter pony would get mad. But most of the time, Trixie noticed that the two were laughing, and seemed to be having a lot of fun together.
“Is something the matter, Trixie?” Rarity asked, turning her head away from the book to face Trixie. “You’ve been staring for a while now. You know that that’s rude, do you not?”
“…You two are sisters, right?”
“Hm? Oh, yes, that’s right…”
Sweetie Belle wrapped her forelegs around Rarity’s waist. “She can be a bit fussy at times, and bossy, and picky, and overly-dramatic-”
“Sweetie Belle!”
“-but she’s the best big sister in the whole world!”
Rarity sighed and patted Sweetie Belle’s head. Sweetie Belle responded by giggling and latching on tighter to her big sister. Trixie watch the scene for a moment, and started to feel sad…This time, she was certain. She was feeling jealous. She wanted this for herself…She wanted to feel closer to her family, to experience the same thing that these two sisters were experiencing right now.
And with that, her mind was made up. She rose to her hooves, and shot a smile at the three Unicorns. “Thank you for your assistance,” she said, bowing politely. “Trixie will be taking her leave now. There is something important that Trixie must do.”
“Um…You’re welcome?” Sweetie said, confused as to what exactly she did that qualified as “assisting” Trixie.
Twilight smiled and got up to see Trixie off. Once they were outside of the library, Twilight pulled Trixie into a light, friendly hug. “Good luck, Trixie. If you want, I can help smooth things over for you.”
Trixie blushed at the sudden embrace from Twilight, and, although she didn’t return it, she didn’t do much to resist it, either. In fact, she didn’t do anything. She just stood there, until Twilight backed up, and Trixie could find her voice again. “N-No. That’s quite alright, Sparkle. Trixie would rather do this alone…It’s a personal matter, you understand.”
Twilight nodded in understanding, but found herself frowning at Trixie. “Trixie, can you please stop calling me that?” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Just call me Twilight. I don’t like being addressed so formally. Especially not by a friend.”
Trixie’s quizzical face only grew at this sudden development. “Since when were we friends, exactly?”
“Well…Don’t you want to be?” Twilight looked as if she were about to cry, and for some reason, Trixie felt her chest tightening up at the sight.
“N-No! Trixie didn’t mean it like that! It’s just…When exactly did this happen? Trixie doesn’t remember us establishing a pact or anything.”
Twilight stared blankly at Trixie for a few moments, and when she realised that Trixie was being serious, she let out a very loud, and very long laugh. “Stop that! The Great and Powerful Trixie demands you stop laughing at her at once!”
When Twilight had finally managed to calm down, she wiped a tear away from her eye, and put a hoof on Trixie’s shoulder. “Sorry about that…Trixie, you know that friendship isn’t about making pacts or deals, right?”
“It isn’t?” Trixie asked, feeling a little nervous about the hoof on her shoulder. “Trixie thought that friendships were like alliances…Are you telling Trixie that they’re actually something different?”
Twilight rolled her eyes, and took a step into her library. “If you want, I can teach you later.” Twilight turned around and held a hoof to her chest, standing tall and beaming with pride. “I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve become something of an expert on the subject. I’d be happy to take you on as my pupil.”
“Your…Pupil?” Trixie didn’t know what to think of that, but for some reason, she was getting mixed feelings…Annoyance, anger, happiness, interest, curiosity, excitement…
“But for now, you have somewhere you need to be, right?”
Trixie snapped out of her train of thought, and gave one final bow to Twilight. “…Thank you, Twilight.” Twilight, for some reason, found herself blushing at the mention of her name, though Trixie didn’t seem to catch it. “Trixie will come back later to report on how things turned out…And also, for some more tea.”
Twilight smiled and waved a hoof as Trixie walked off. Once she was back inside and had closed the door, she continued to help Rarity and Sweetie Belle out with their research. Rarity was curious as to what was going on, and Sweetie Belle was voicing those same curiosities, but out of respect for Twilight and Trixie’s privacy, Rarity decided to keep their conversations non-Trixie related.
Rainbow Dash smiled as she walked down the path leading out of Ponyville. It wasn’t a forced smile, like the one she’d been wearing for the past few days, but a genuine, happy smile. She couldn’t believe her luck; running into Swift of all ponies, and then being comforted by him, as well!
And his advice had worked, too. Walking home at a slow, steady pace, helped clear Rainbow’s mind much better than flying had earlier. He suggested that trying something new might help her to calm down, and since she rarely walks around, that act alone could be classed as “something new”.
She was nearing the spot where he cloud house floated above in the sky. She extended her wings and prepared to take off…But stopped when she saw a blue Unicorn with a silver mane approaching. “Trixie…” she said coldly, keeping her wings extended and glaring at the showmare. “What do you want?” ‘Great, just when I’d finally managed to calm down.’
“Rainbow Dash…Trixie would like to speak to you about something important,” Trixie said.
“Not interested,” Rainbow responded, and began to ascend towards her home. However, she was stopped by something tugging at her tail. She looked down to see Trixie’s horn lit up, and a purple aura grabbing onto her tail. “Let go!”
“Rainbow Dash, do you recognise this?” Trixie pulled her necklace out of her saddlebag, and held it up in front of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow’s eyes widened, and she lowered to the ground as she examined the necklace closely. “You do, don’t oyU?”
“This is…” Rainbow’s glared returned as she faced Trixie again. “Where did you get this? Did you take it from my home? So you’re thief as well as a conmare?”
“Take a closer look at it. It’s different from yours, isn’t it?” Rainbow examined the necklace again, and pointed out that it was different. “Rainbow Dash…You’re my sister.”
Silence filled the air for a few minutes, with Rainbow Dash struggling to think about how to respond to this claim, and with Trixie constantly shifting her gaze between her sister and the ground. Finally, Rainbow Dash broke the silence. “You’re lying.”
Trixie’s eyes widened, and she stared at Rainbow with a look of disbelief. “W-What? What do you mean?”
“I mean that you’re nothing but a liar, Trixie! Let me guess, you stole this from my sister and decided to pull this trick on me? How low can you get!?”
Trixie held back the tears starting to form in her eyes, and shot a glare back at Rainbow Dash. “How dare you!? Trixie has had that necklace ever since she was abandoned at that Celestia-forsaken orphanage as a filly! Trixie is indeed your older sister, and-”
“I don’t believe you!”
Trixie flinched and stared at the ground, trembling as a few tears started to make their way down her face. She looked back up at Rainbow Dash, and put her necklace back into her bag. ‘Guess this was all pointless then…’ Trixie took a deep breath, and spoke. “Sorry to have disturbed you. Trixie will be gone by tomorrow…Just one question. Where can Trixie find our parents?”
Rainbow’s glare intensified, and her voice grew harsher as she answered: “You mean my parents?”
“…Whatever? Where are they?” Trixie wiped the tears from her face, and pulled her head up to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes. “Trixie would like to speak with them.”
Rainbow would have told Trixie that it was none of her business, but she caught the sight of tears running down Trixie’s face, and the hint of despair in her voice…“What…” Trixie’s gaze didn’t falter, but Rainbow found her own gaze becoming softer. “What would you do…If I told you?”
“…Trixie doesn’t know yet,” Trixie said, “They threw Trixie away like she was trash, and denied her the same life that they gave to you…What Trixie will do depends on the answers that she gets from them.”
Rainbow swallowed the lump in her throat. “And what if…What if I told…That mum and dad are both dead?” Trixie didn’t answer, but the look on Trixie’s face was enough for Rainbow Dash. The mixed look of horror, sadness, regret, and…Loneliness. “Dad died a while ago. Magical malfunction while he was on duty. And mum…You just missed her. She died last week.”
Trixie’s mouth opened and closed as she ran this information through her mind. Her body shook, and she felt like she was going to throw up. “Mum and dad are…Dead?” Fresh tears moved down Trixie’s face. “I never even met them…They abandoned me…And I never got the chance to decide whether or not I should forgive them…”
“Trixie…”
Trixie ran forward and threw her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s neck. Rainbow tried to push Trixie off at first, but stopped when she heard the sobs coming from Trixie, and felt the tears dropping onto her shoulder. “All this time, I’ve wondered who my family is…And now, just when I finally found them…Why? Why am I always all alone?”
Rainbow’s face softened, and she placed a forehoof around Trixie, gently stroking her mane as she let her tears run out. ‘She’s been alone all this time…I know she isn’t lying. I can tell, she’s…She’s really my sister, isn’t she?’
Trixie’s crying slowed down, and her sobs were reduced to silent chokes and the occasional hiccups. “Uh…You ok?” Rainbow Dash asked, not quite sure how to deal with this situation.
“Trixie’s fine,” Trixie answered, before letting go and turning around. “Again, Trixie apologizes for this…Trixie will never show herself before you again.”
“Wait!” Rainbow shouted, startling Trixie and causing her to turn around. “Um…Look, I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that…And I can’t let you just go off on your own, when you’re clearly too vulnerable to be alone right now.”
“Trixie will be fine; she has spent her entire life by herself, after all.”
“No way!” Rainbow shouted, jumping up and hovering in the air. “No sister of mine is gonna be left on her own when she’s feeling down in the dumps!”
Trixie looked up at Rainbow’s cloud home above her, and then back towards Rainbow Dash. “And how do you intend to stay with Trixie? Trixie’s trailer is too small for two ponies, and Trixie cannot walk on clouds.”
Rainbow grinned and lowered herself towards Trixie. “No problem! I got a friend who can help with that!” Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around Trixie’s waist, and lifted her into the air.
“W-What do you think you’re doing! Release Trixie at once!”
“I will, just not right now! Otherwise, you might run off or something.”
Trixie flailed for a bit longer, before finally calming down and allowing Rainbow Dash to take her along. “This is no way to treat your big sister,” Trixie said, sulking.
After a brief visit to the Ponyville library, Trixie was enchanted with a spell by Twilight. One which allowed her to walk on clouds, though it was only temporary.
After that, Rainbow Dash carried Trixie up to her cloud home, though not before complaining about how Trixie told Twilight about their sisterhood before telling her.
Once they were at Rainbow’s home, Rainbow Dash tried to lower Trixie down onto the cloud, but the “Great and Powerful Trixie” was reluctant to let go of her younger sister. “Relax, Trixie. You’re not gonna fall through.”
“You don’t know!” Trixie shouted, struggling to hold onto Rainbow Dash above her. “Lower Trixie down slowly! Trixie has so many fans, who would lose their reason for living should anything horrible befall Trixie!”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course ya do,” Rainbow said sarcastically, before slowly lowering Trixie down onto the cloud, still holding onto her. When Trixie landed on the cloud, instead of going through it, Rainbow let go of Trixie, and stared at her with a big grin on her face.”See? I told you it’d be fine.”
Trixie crossed her forelegs and looked away from her sister. “Fine, Trixie admits you may have been right this time…”
Rainbow frowned and landed on the cloud next to Trixie. “Oh, c’mon, don’t be like that! I brought you here ‘cause I felt sorry for you…And ‘cause you’re my sister. But if you’re gonna act this way-” Rainbow stopped when she saw Trixie looking at her with wide eyes, teary eyes. “W-What? What’s with that face?”
“You…See Trixie as your sister?”
“Huh? Well, yeah. I mean, you are my sister, right?” Rainbow blushed as she said that, and turned around to try and hide it. “Anyway, c’mon, let’s go inside so we can talk…We have a lot to catch up on, right?”
Trixie smiled and nodded her head, before getting up to follow Rainbow Dash inside.
Rainbow Dash’s cloud house was a lot bigger than what Trixie was expecting. She was impressed…But it also served as a painful reminder that Rainbow Dash was the daughter that their parents didn’t abandon.
Her bitterness towards her parents started to return, but it was now also mixed with sadness that they were dead, and regret that she never had the chance to meet them and judge them for herself.
“So, what d’you think?” Rainbow Dash asked, taking a seat on her couch in the centre of her living room. “Pretty cool, huh?”
Trixie approached the same couch, but decided to remain standing, instead of sitting beside her sister. “It’s…Nice,” Trixie said, feigning indifference as she looked around. In truth, she thought it was better than nice – much better, in fact – but she wanted to maintain her dignified appearance. “Bigger than Trixie’s trailer, that’s for sure.”
“Sooo…D’you, like, live in that trailer?” Trixie nodded, and Rainbow’s frown returned. “I see…You don’t have much money, huh?”
“Oh, no, it’s not like that,” Trixie said, taking Rainbow by surprise. “Trixie makes more than enough money to get by, thanks to her shows…Trixie just really likes to travel, and a large trailer would be rather difficult to lug around everywhere.”
Rainbow smiled and invited Trixie to sit down. Trixie reluctantly accepted, but still kept her distance, so Rainbow Dash closed it herself. “So your life…It wasn’t too hard, was it?” Trixie didn’t answer. “My mom- …Our mom, she told me that you ran away from the orphanage you were at when you were five.”
Trixie’s ears twitched, and her eyes narrowed as she stared at Rainbow Dash. “Oh, is that so? So in other words, even after abandoning Trixie, she still kept tabs on her? And didn’t once think to offer Trixie any help?”
Rainbow quickly waved her hooves in front of her. “No no no no! It’s not like that! She went to pick you up when we were both 11 years old, but then she found out that you’d run away…Why did you do that?”
“…To find her family, Trixie set out on a journey. One that ended just as quickly as it began.” Trixie’s face changed to show a look of disgust as she remembered her past. “It was also partially to escape that hellhole of an orphanage.”
Rainbow Dash pulled her sister into an embrace, which was returned by Trixie. “I’m sorry, Trixie. I…I had no idea, I only just learned that I had a sister last week, and mom only knew you by your birth name: Will-o-Wisp.”
Trixie pulled away from the hug, and stared into her sister’s eyes. “Our parents…What were they like?”
Rainbow leaned back and tilted her head up in thought. “Well…Our dad was employed with the Royal Guard. Nothing big, just standard guard duty…But he was hardworking, and really cool. He also played the guitar, though not very well.” Rainbow Dash found herself smiling as she reminisced about her father. “He died while I was still young, but I can still remember him well…And they’re all good memories.”
“…And mother?”
“Mother was…She was strict, and loud, and bossy, and fussy. I got into arguments with her a lot, especially when I started to hangout with what she considered “the wrong crowd”.”
“So you didn’t like her?” Rainbow shot a glare at Trixie, which made her flinch. “W-Well, that’s how you make it sound.”
“…She was a pain sometimes, but…She was still my mother. And she loved me very much. She was kind, and always looked out for me…She also loved you, too.”
Trixie’s eyes widened, and she stared at Rainbow Dash in disbelief. “…”
“She told me that she abandoned you because it was an emergency…Honestly, I can’t see what kind of emergency would ever cause a parent to abandon their child, but, one thing’s for certain: she always regretted her decision. Before she died, she told me that she would have done more to look for you…But that she didn’t want to abandon me, too.”
“I see,” Trixie said, lowering her head as she thought things through.
Rainbow decided to let Trixie be alone with her thoughts for a little bit. “Hey, I don’t know ‘bout you, but I’m pretty hungry. How about I go cook something up for us?”
Trixie simply nodded, and didn’t even notice Rainbow Dash getting up and walking off towards the kitchen. ‘Whether she loved me or not, mother’s now dead…I never got to me her, even once. But…’ Trixie turned to see Rainbow Dash in the kitchen, placing some instant noodle cups into a microwave. ‘I still have a family. I shouldn’t throw this chance away! I shouldn’t let the past drag me down! I’m gonna be…The best big sister in the whole world, even more so than Princess Celestia herself!’
“This is what you’ve been eating all this time!?” Trixie asked after tasting her cup of instant noodles.
“Well, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, not sure why Trixie was making such a fuss. “I mean, I can’t cook very well, and they’re cheap, and easy to cook.”
“This is unacceptable!” Trixie shouted, rising to her hooves. “The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot allow her little sister to continue mistreating her body with this…Poor excuse for food!” Trixie lowered the cup to the nearby cloud table, and jumped down from the couch. “As your responsible big sister, Trixie will see to it that your body receives the proper nourishment that your it needs!”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at Trixie’s sudden outrage. ‘Well she certainly recovered quickly,’ she thought to herself. “Trixie, you know you’re only older than me by like a few minutes, right?”
“Older is still older, and now that Trixie has been reunited with you, she intends to make up for all the lost time that we could have spent together! That includes making sure that you eat proper meals!”
“Hey, what I eat is my business!” Rainbow protested. “Besides, if you’re talkin’ about making up for lost time, there are more important things to think about than my diet.”
“Like?”
Rainbow grinned and leaned closer to Trixie. “Like all my birthdays you missed! I expect a present for each one!”
Trixie glared at Rainbow Dash. She was about to argue that she should do the same, but another thought crossed her mind. “When is our birthday?”
Rainbow’s eyes widened in shock. “You don’t know!?”
Trixie shook her head. “The matron could only guess Trixie’s age. She never knew how old exactly Trixie was, or when her birthday was. Not that it mattered; nopony was around to celebrate it, so Trixie never put much thought into finding out when it was.”
Rainbow Dash started to feel guilty, and also started to mentally kick herself. ‘Ugh, how am I supposed to hold a light conversation with her when her past is so…She’s had it so rough, while I had a home, a family, and friends, and she still wants to make peace with me?’
“Don’t worry about it,” Trixie said, snapping Rainbow Dash out of her thoughts, “Trixie will make up for all the birthdays she’s missed, though she can’t guarantee the presents will be very good. Trixie doesn’t make much in the way of disposable income.”
Rainbow Dash quickly shook her head at that. “No no no no! You don’t have to, really! I was only joking before!”
“But Trixie wants to,” Trixie said, pouting a little at Rainbow’s objection. “We’re twins, so we have our birthday together, right? Trixie wants to make up for all the birthdays we’ve missed together.”
Rainbow Dash thought about it for a second, and then smiled.”Yeah, I guess we can work something out…Maybe Pinkie Pie can help us out; she does like parties, after all.”
“Pinkie Pie? Is that one of the ponies that Trixie challenged when she last visited Ponyville?”
Rainbow frowned at the memory of Trixie’s first visit to Ponyville, but didn’t let it get to her. She had already decided to forgive Trixie, and make up with her. She was family, after all. “No, though to be honest, I don’t think you’d stand a chance.”
A confident smirk crossed Trixie’s face. “Oh yeah? Trixie assures you, there is nopony out there that Trixie cannot best.”
“Not Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash said, though her tone made it sound more like a warning than a statement. “Trust me, you don’t wanna mess with her.”
“…Do you…Hangout with bad ponies?” Trixie asked, concerned.
Rainbow laughed at Trixie’s question, and then shook her head when she was finished. “No, not anymore,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “Pinkie’s just…A little crazy, and able to break the laws of physics.”
“…What?”
“Well, that’s the best way I can describe it,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “If there’s a logical explanation for her out there, even Twilight couldn’t find it. And Pinkie Pie loves pranks. That’s why I think you shouldn’t “challenge” her.”
The evening continued with the two talking about themselves, alternating stories about their lives. While Rainbow’s stories about her days as flight school, and about her friends in Ponyville, helped to lighten the mood, Trixie’s stories about how her life on the streets, stealing and fighting to survive, always made Rainbow depressed, and guilty.
Eventually, Trixie’s stories started to lighten things up. Such as Trixie’s stories of her time at school, albeit after she had to partake in a bank robbery in order to pay the tuition. Rainbow decided to ignore that part; she knew it was her job as an Equestrian citizen to report Trixie, but she just couldn’t bring herself to report somepony who, as a filly, committed a crime out of desperation, in order to survive.
After that, Trixie’s stories were a lot more light-hearted. She started her showmare career, and made enough money to survive over the years that she didn’t have to resort to stealing or “shady jobs” ever again.
After talking into the night, Trixie let out a loud, exhausted yawn. “Hmmm…Trixie did wake up early this morning. Trixie’s fatigue must be catching up to her.”
Rainbow looked over at the clock, and saw that it was only 9:46. ‘Still early, but…’ Rainbow looked back at Trixie, who was obviously struggling to stay awake. “Hey, let’s go hit the cloud.”
“Hm?”
“Uh, get some sleep?” Rainbow remembered that Trixie wasn’t a Pegasus…She was only used to having other Pegasi in her home, it being made of clouds and all. This was certainly something new for her.
“But there’s still so much we can talk about…”
“True, but we’re gonna have ta get up early tomorrow!” Rainbow said, rising to her hooves and stretching her legs and her wings. “After all, I wanna show you around Ponyville!”
“But Trixie’s already seeeeen Ponyville,” Trixie said, in a dreary voice.
Rainbow found Trixie’s sleepy state cute for a second, but then cleared that thought from her mind. ‘No! Not cute! Why did I…Ah, it must be ‘cause I’m tired. Yeah, that’s it!’ “Trixie, you don’t quite get it. I’m saying that I wanna spend more time with you, and show you my life, instead of just telling you about it.”
Trixie’s face lit up, though she was still clearly very tired. “Oh, well when you put it that way!” Trixie also rose to her hooves, though much more slowly than her sister. “Well then, where shall Trixie sleep?”
“In my bed, of course.”
“Then what about you?”
“In my bed.”
“…Rainbow Dash-”
“Look, stop being so formal! We’re sisters, so just call me Dash!”
“…Dash, even if we’re sisters, sharing a bed is a little…”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Awww, is Trixie too embarrassed to share a bed with her little sister?”
“S-Silence! You shall show the proper respect towards the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“Anyway, there’s no reason to be embarrassed,” Rainbow said, even though she herself couldn’t hold back her blushing. “I mean…We never got the chance to sleep together as fillies, right? It’s just another one of those things we need to catch up on…Right?”
Trixie thought about it for a moment, though her tired mind made it hard to think very clearly. “…Trixie guesses so…”
“And I don’t have any spare blankets or anything, so it’s not like there’s much choice. Now come on! It looks like you’re gonna collapse at any second.”
Trixie’s noticed her legs wobbling beneath her, and drowsily followed Rainbow Dash towards her bedroom. For a brief moment, she imagined following a different mare. She couldn’t tell who, in her dreary state, but she had a purple coat. Her blush deepened, and she quickly shook off the thought. ‘What was that all about?’
‘Ugh…What a strange dream,’ Trixie thought to herself, walking out of Rainbow’s kitchen, carrying two well cooked meals in her magic, ‘There’s no doubt…I think I’ve fallen for her.’
“Whoa, Trix! What’s with all that food?”
“…“Trix”?” Trixie asked with a scowl.
“That’s what I said! Short for Trixie, in case you didn’t quite catch on.”
“Thank you,” Trixie said sarcastically. “But the Great and Powerful Trixie did not give you permission to call her by such name.” She set the plates at the table – two for her, and two for her sister. “…You may call Trixie whatever you wish.”
“Alright then, Drips!” Rainbow Dash responded with a chuckle.
Trixie shot a glare at Rainbow Dash. “Trixie takes that back! You are to address Trixie as “the Great and Powerful Trixie” from this point on!”
“Hmmm…Nah, don’t think so.” Rainbow took a bite out of one of the pancakes in front of her. “Hey…This is pretty good!”
Trixie smirked and held her head up high. “Trixie told you she was a good cook. And Trixie hopes that, after this, you will never want to go back to those awful instant foods ever again.”
“How did you even make this? Did I really have all this stuff in my kitchen?”
“Indeed…Though you may need to go shopping. Trixie didn’t hold back, as you can see.” Trixie said, emphasising her point by pointing at all of the food she had prepared.
“Well, it’s probably a good thing,” Rainbow Dash said, “I intend to give you a full tour of Ponyville, so there won’t be time for lunch.”
“Um, Rai- Dash?”
“Yeah, Trix?”
“…How is Trixie supposed to get down?” Trixie asked, watching as Rainbow Dash started to fly down from her cloud home by herself.
Rainbow once again reminded herself that Trixie was Unicorn, not a Pegasus. “Well…You could always try using that cape of yours as a parachute.”
Trixie realised that Rainbow Dash was joking, but…The thought actually didn’t sound so bad. It would make an interesting entry act for her shows. “Good idea,” she said, using her magic undo her cape, and arrange it as a makeshift parachute.
“I was joking!” Rainbow shouted, dashing up to her sister and grabbing hold of her before she could jumped off. “Man, you’re heavy! I think somepony needs to watch how much cake they eat!”
“Silence! The Great and Powerful Trixie’s figure is excellent! Even better than many of the models in Manehatten, in fact!”
“Well, still doesn’t change the fact that you’re among the heaviest ponies I’ve ever carried…No, scratch that. You’re the heaviest pony I’ve ever carried!”
“If Trixie’s heavy, you must be, too!” Trixie shouted. “After all, you’re her sister!...That’s how these things work, right?”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the showmare below her. “How should I know? I didn’t take Science at school.”
“…You had a choice? Trixie thought it was compulsory at all schools within Equestria.”
“It is. I just never showed up for it. It was, as I would have put it back then, “way too lame for somepony like me”.”
“Huh…Guess that makes Trixie the brains of the family…” Trixie muttered to herself.
“You say something?”
“Not a word! So, where is our first destination?”
“Sweet Apple Acres!” Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing to the farm before them.
“Yes, Trixie can read the sign just fine,” Trixie responded.
“I know, but you asked where our first stop was, so-”
“That was five minutes ago…Trixie was actually worried when you didn’t answer her.” Rainbow Dash winced, and took a step towards Trixie. Was Trixie still not sure about the two of them? Was she still having doubts about whether this could work? “Trixie thought you’d lost your voice or hearing or something.”
“…Oh. That’s what you meant by “worried”.” Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief, whilst Trixie looked at her dumbfounded.
“What did you think Trixie meant?”
“Well…Ah, never mind, forget it!” Rainbow Dash proceeded into the farm, with Trixie following her, demanding an explanation. “It’s nothing! Just drop it, alright!?”
“Dash-”
“I said drop it!”
“Dash-”
“Trix, I said to-” Rainbow Dash was cut off by a loud thud!, and an overwhelming pain throughout her body. She pulled herself away from the tree that she had slammed into, and turned around to see Trixie laughing at her.
“Trixie tried to warn you, Dash. You need to watch where you’re flying.”
“…Stop that,” Rainbow said, glaring at Trixie as she continued to laugh at the pained Pegasus. “I said stop!” Trixie’s laughter only grew, annoying Rainbow Dash even more. “That’s it! You asked for it!”
Applejack was hauling a few carts full of apples across the orchard, heading towards the barn, when she heard laughter coming from somewhere in the orchard. “Is that Apple Bloom and her friends?” She saw a bright flash of purple light in the distance, and quickly rushed over, leaving the carts behind. “No, that ain’t them. Whoever it is, ah better make sure they aren’t here tah make a mess of things.”
“Cut it out!”
Applejack stopped when she saw a blue Pegasus flailing about in the air. “Rainbow?” She noticed the purple aura surrounding the Pegasus’ body, and then turned her head to see Trixie standing close by, with her horn lit up. “What the? Don’t tell me they’re fightin’.”
“Do you surrender?” Trixie asked, grinning smugly at Rainbow Dash.
“Hah! Yeah right!” Rainbow answered, flapping her wings harder. She eventually ascended fast enough to break free of Trixie’s hold, and then charged towards the Unicorn. “Gotcha now!”
“She jus’ couldn’t leave ‘er alone, could she?” Applejack stepped forward, ready to break up the fight, before Rainbow pinned Trixie to the ground and started…“Wha?”
Trixie lay down on the floor, flailing her legs and laughing uncontrollably as Rainbow Dash began tickling her with her wings. “No HAHAHA fair! HAHA Using your HAHAHA wings like that!”
“You used your horn!”
Trixie continued laughing and flailing, her horn occasionally lighting up, but no spells ever coming out. It was hard to conjure up a spell when being tickled, after all.
Applejack simply looked on at the scene bewildered. After some time, Rainbow Dash noticed the farmer standing there, and stopped her play fight with Trixie. “A-AJ!? W-What are you-”
“Ah do work here, y’know?” Applejack said, stepping forward.
“Um…Just how much of that did you see, exactly?” Rainbow asked. Trixie rose to her hooves and turned to face the orange Earth Pony approaching them.
“More than ah think ah’d have liked to,” she answered, shifting her gaze between the two ponies before her. “You two are friends now? Well, ah have tah say ah never saw that comin’.”
Rainbow Dash scratched her head nervously. “Yeah, well…It’s a little more complicated than that.”
Applejack’s eyes widened. “Yah mean…You two are…Like that?”
Rainbow looked confused, but Trixie caught on right away, and a sly grin crossed her face as she placed a foreleg across Rainbow’s shoulders. “Oh, yes. Rainbow Dash and Trixie are more than “just friends”.”
Applejack looked to Rainbow Dash, who still look confused, but offered a nod nonetheless. “Well, uh…That’s great, ah guess!” Applejack smiled at the two ponies, who smiled back, though Trixie’s smile was more devious than Rainbow’s. “Congratulations, Rainbow Dash! Can’t say ah’m overly fond of Trixie, but hay, if she makes yah happy, who’m ah tah judge?”
“Well, I don’t know about her making me “happy”,” Rainbow said, “I just didn’t really have a choice in the matter…I couldn’t exactly turn her away, y’know?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow, and then noticed Trixie giggling silently to herself. She narrowed her eyes at the blue Unicorn. “…Trixie? What exactly did yah mean when yah said that you two are more than friends?”
Trixie continued laughing out loud to herself, and Rainbow Dash finally understood the misunderstanding that Applejack had, and that Trixie was encouraging. “T-Trixie!” Rainbow yelled, pushing Trixie’s leg away. She quickly turned to Applejack, and began explaining the situation.
“Yer sister?” Applejack asked, looking sceptically at the two for a second, before setting her gaze back on Rainbow Dash. “Look, Sugarcube, there’s no need tah go makin’ up wild stories like that. Who you like is yer business, an’ I certainly don’t have a problem with it.”
Trixie laughed again, but Rainbow Dash was visibly less amused. “I’m not lying! And I’d never go out with another mare! I’m not like that!”
Trixie was surprised with how offended Rainbow Dash seemed to have been, and just as surprised to hear her say that she wasn’t into mares. ‘Huh…I kind of assumed that she was…’ Trixie quickly stopped her train of thought. There was really no reason for her to jump to conclusions about somepony’s sexuality based on their appearance. She’d learned the hard way that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
Trixie saw that Applejack still wasn’t entirely convinced, and after seeing her sister getting so worked up, decided to put an end to this whole fiasco. “She speaks the truth,” Trixie said, gaining Applejack’s attention. She pulled out a necklace from her cloak.
“Wait…Isn’t that that necklace you showed us all before, Rainbow?”
“Not exactly,” Rainbow said, calming down a little bit. “That’s the other half of it…The half my sister Will-o-Wisp was given when she was abandoned.”
Trixie narrowed her eyes and averted her gaze from the two ponies. “Trixie doesn’t like that name. She would prefer to be called by the name that she chose for herself.”
Rainbow blinked in confusion a few times, but decided not to question it. She didn’t want another guilt trip from hearing about Trixie’s past. “Uh, sure. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Applejack looked between the two ponies, and was now starting to believe their story. “So…You two really are sisters?”
The two nodded. “Listen, AJ,” Rainbow started, taking a step forward, “About the last time Trixie was here. I know you two didn’t get off to a good start, but-”
“Ah, don’t worry yerself, Dash,” Applejack said, a smile spreading on her face. “Truth be told, ah got over that little incident in less than a week.” She turned to Trixie, and extended her hoof. Trixie accepted Applejack’s hoofshake. “Well now, ah reckon we ain’t been properly introduced! Ah’m Applejack, and any friend or family of Rainbow Dash’s is a welcome friend of Sweet Apple Acres!”
Trixie return Applejack’s smile, but made sure not to drug her smug appearance. She had to keep up appearances, after all. “So, you’re good friends with Trixie’s sister?”
“Eeyup, sure am! Though she can be a bit of a hoofful at times, ‘sepcially when she agrees tah help me out then never shows up!” Applejack shot Rainbow Dash a cold glare, but Rainbow simply turned away and started to whistle innocently.
This caused Trixie to snicker at the two friends, before she pulled back her hoof and tilted her hat forward a bit, bow slightly to the orange Earth Pony. “Thank you for taking care of Trixie’s younger sister all this time. It’s good to know at least one of us was able to grow up with such a good friend by their side.”
Applejack was about to ask what Trixie meant by that, but Rainbow Dash quickly cut in before she could. “Hey, AJ! How about you show Trix around the farm? You know it better than I do, after all!”
“Well, there ain’t much tah show…But sure! Ah reckon ah’ve got some free time on mah hooves. I’ll gladly show you ‘round!” Applejack began to lead the two back to where her carts were sitting, before stopping at turning to Rainbow Dash, raising an eyebrow at the blue Pegasus. ““Trix”?”
“And here’s our next stop!” Rainbow Dash shouted, stopping in the middle of a vast field. “This is where I come to practice my aerial techniques! Pretty sweet, huh?” Rainbow heard no response, and turned around to see if her sister was ok. “Trix? You there?”
Trixie was not too far away from Rainbow Dash, but was lying down on her stomach, groaning in pain. “Ugh…Trixie hasn’t felt this bad since the first time she got drunk…”
Rainbow sighed and hovered over to Trixie, before landing on the ground and sitting beside her nauseas sister. “Well, I did tell you to cut back on the apples and apple based treats, but did you listen? Noooo…”
“But they were so good. Trixie has never had such good food before…That was acquired legally.”
“Well, yeah, but that’s why Applejack suggested you take the rest home with you, instead of eating it all at once.” Trixie didn’t come up with a witty retort, so Rainbow Dash knew that she really wasn’t feeling well. “Well, I guess we could just take a break for a few minutes…Then I can show you my awesome flying skills!”
“Mm…Sounds good…” Trixie said groggily. She lay down quietly on the grass, with Rainbow Dash sitting beside her. There was a pleasant breeze in the air, which helped Trixie to relax.
“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t realise there was anypony here,” a soft voice called out from behind them. The two turned around to see a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane and tail standing not too far away. “Oh. Hi, Rainbow Dash, and, uh…”
Trixie slowly got up to introduce herself. Her stomach didn’t respond well at all. “T-The Great and Powerf- MPH!” Trixie slammed a hoof to her mouth and fell to her knees.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and leaned down to make sure that Trixie was ok. Fluttershy, concerned for the Unicorn, also walked over, albeit cautiously, to check on her. “This is my sister, Trixie.”
“Oh. I didn’t know you had a sister, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said, gently stroking Trixie’s mane. “Is she ok? She looks sick, but she doesn’t seem to have a fever or anything.”
“She’s fine,” Rainbow said, “She just had a little too much to eat, that’s all.”
“Oh my.” Fluttershy stood up and shuffled her hooves against the floor. “Um, if you don’t mind, I might have something that can help her…”
“Really?”
“Yes. Um, it’s a herbal medicine, designed to help small animal that eat too much. But Zecora showed me how to combine it with other herbs to make it work on ponies, too.”
“Ugh…Trixie is willing to try anything right now…” Trixie said, getting up to her hooves again. “Thank you for the offer, Miss…”
“Oh, my name’s Fluttershy,” Fluttershy said, smiling as watched Rainbow Dash help Trixie walk. “It’s nice to meet you. Rainbow Dash is one of my best friends, so I’d like it if we can be friends, too.”
“Trixie would like that, Flutter- MPH!”
“Ok, now swallow slowly, ok?”
“…Trixie is not a filly, you know? She doesn’t need to be instructed on how to take medicine.”
“Oh. Right. Um, sorry about that. I’m just used to treated little woodland animals, you see.”
Trixie took the herbal remedy from Fluttershy, and cringed at the scent of it alone. She couldn’t see how something that smelled so foul could help her get better, but Rainbow Dash managed to persuade her to take it.
Within just a few minutes, Trixie was already beginning to feel better, although her stomach was still aching when she moved, so she tried to stay still as much as possible. She then asked Fluttershy to tell her about what Rainbow Dash was like at school, and the next half-hour was spent by Trixie listening to Fluttershy’s stories, although the timid Pegasus was constantly stopping to ask Rainbow if it was ok to continue.
Fluttershy realised that it was time for her to feed her animals, and excused herself for a few minutes.
“Well, we should probably get going, anyway,” Rainbow said, getting up and stretching her wings. Trixie nodded in agreement.
“Good morning, Fluttershy,” said a voice from outside the house. The two mares turned to the window, and saw a familiar Unicorn standing outside, talking to Fluttershy about something.
Trixie recognised Twilight immediately, and suddenly, she was reminded of the dream that she had last night…And her face quickly turned a deep shade of red. She took cover behind the chair she was sitting on, which confused Rainbow Dash.
“Uh…Trix, what’re you doing?”
“N-Nothing!” Trixie said, sticking her head out briefly to see if Twilight was still there. She saw Twilight walking away from Fluttershy, smiling and waving cheerfully. That big, beautiful smile on her face, and her cheery voice that sounded like music to the showmare’s ears…“D-Dash?” she asked, rising to her hooves. “Can Trixie…Ask a favour of you?”
Rainbow raised her eyebrow at Trixie’s sudden strange behaviour. “Uh…Sure?”
“It’s about your friend, Twilight Sparkle…Trixie was wondering if you could…”
“…Yeah? If I could what?”
Trixie took a deep breath, looked Rainbow Dash right in the eyes, and worked up the courage to just say it…“Trixie was wondering if you could help her to get a date with Twilight!”
The room was drowned in silence for what seemed like several minutes. In truth, it was but a few moments, before Rainbow Dash spoke up, her voice uneasy. “You…By “date”, you mean…”
“As marefriends, yes.”
“…So you’re…A fillyfooler?”
Trixie cringed at turned her head away. “Trixie wouldn’t quite put it that way…But yes. Trixie does like mares, and…It seems that Trixie has fallen for your friend Twilight Sparkle.”
Another few moments of silence, and Trixie turned to Rainbow Dash with a worried look on her face. “If you don’t want to help, it’s fine. Trixie was just hoping you could give her some advice is all…”
“…I can’t believe it,” Rainbow said, “It all seemed to be going too well…I can’t believe that you’re a fillyfooler…”
Trixie suddenly felt uneasy, and her ears drooped as she sensed the conversation taking an unpleasant turn. “I-Is that a problem?”
“A problem? A PROBLEM!?” Rainbow glared at Trixie and huffed, looking ready to charge at her at any second. “Of course it’s a problem! My sister, a fillyfooler! Just bucking great! I can’t believe I let you in my house, or that I took pity on you!”
“D-Dash, please, calm down,” Trixie pleaded, but it fell on death ears.
“DON’T CALL ME THAT! ONLY MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY CAN CALL ME DASH, AND YOU’RE NEITHER! GET OUT OF HERE, I DON’T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!”
Trixie’s eyes began to water, and she tried to reason with her enraged sister, but Rainbow wouldn’t give her the chance to speak. “I SAID OUT! NOW!”
Trixie flinched when it looked like Rainbow Dash was about to strike her, and after a few more seconds of looking into Rainbow’s eyes, which were now filled with seething anger, Trixie broke out into a gallop, leaving the house and running as far away from it as possible, a trail of tears being left behind in her wake.
Rainbow huffed and began to stomp towards the door, only to be stopped by Fluttershy, who looked cross at the rainbow-maned Pegasus. “Rainbow Dash…How could you do something like that? And to your own sister, too.”
“She’s noy my sister! I can’t believe I fell for that stupid trick. No sister of mine would ever do something like that! It’s just…Not right!”
“Rainbow…”
“Don’t you dare try giving me a lecture! I’m outta here!”
Rainbow Dash extended her wings and flew past Fluttershy with much force, knocking her down. Fluttershy got up and saw Rainbow flying away. “Wait!” she called out, but it was no use; Rainbow was already out of Fluttershy’s sight. Fluttershy looked down the road that Trixie had run down, and let out a soft sigh. “Poor Trixie…I’d better find her, and make sure she’s ok.”
“Stupid Trixie! Stupid stupid STUPID! You finally had the family you always wanted! You finally had somepony who actually cared for you, who actually listened to you, and who you could open up to! And now…You’ve ruined it! Why couldn’t you just keep your big mouth shut? Why did you have to fall that mare!? Why?…Why must everything good be taken away from me?”
Rarity trotted down the streets of Ponyville, eager to get back to her shop and work on her dresses, now that she had the right gems. “Oh, I do hope I’ll have enough time to complete these orders…I probably shouldn’t have taken so much time getting these gems, but one I hit that mother load, I simply couldn’t stop!”
Rarity passed by an alleyway, and stopped when she heard what sounded like somepony crying. It seemed to be coming from the alley, and, curiosity taking over, Rarity took a few steps inside. “Hello? Is anypony there?”
There was no response, but the crying didn’t stop, either. Rarity took a few more steps, closer to the source of the crying sounds. She stopped when she saw a blue Unicorn with a silver mane, dressed in a purple cape and wizard hat, crouched behind a trashcan, crying into her knees. “Trixie?” she called out, but there was no response. “Trixie dear, are you ok?”
Trixie looked up, and saw the white Unicorn mare that had been calling out to her, looking quite concerned for the crying showmare. Trixie wasn’t in the right frame of mind, and without thinking, she reached out and embraced the white Unicorn, crying even louder as she latched on tightly.
Rarity wasn’t sure what was going on, but it was clear that something had upset Trixie greatly, and that words weren’t going to get through just yet. Rarity returned Trixie’s embrace, and offered comforting words, allowing Trixie to cry herself out. Thankfully they were in an alleyway, otherwise this would have been more embarrassing for the young dressmaker.
When Trixie’s sobs had finally slowed down, Rarity pushed Trixie away a bit, and looked her in the eyes. “Are you feeling better now, dear?”
“…Not really,” Trixie said weakly.
“Would you like to talk about it?”
“…”
Rarity sighed and released Trixie, and then turned away from her. “Well, I’m afraid I can’t really just stand here, waiting for you to make up your mind. But if you do want somepony to talk to, just drop by my shop anytime you want. It’s called Carousal Boutique.”
Rarity began to walk away, and it wasn’t long until she heard the sounds of hoofsteps behind her. She turned around to see that Trixie was following close behind, and shot a smile at the nervous mare. “Don’t worry, dear. Whatever’s troubling you, I won’t tell a soul. You have my word.”
Trixie nodded, and walked a little close, now walking side-by-side with Rarity. “I’m so stupid…I knew I should have never come here,” she muttered to herself. “I wish I never found out about her…”
“Rainbow Dash did what!?” Rarity asked, almost dropping the tea that she had been holding for the second time in the past 15 minutes. The first time being when Trixie explained that Rainbow Dash was her sister. “Oh my word…I never thought Rainbow Dash would be so…She always seemed the most accepting of other ponies…”
“Really?” Trixie asked sceptically, “She certainly didn’t seem accepting the last time I came here. In fact, until I told Rainbow Dash that we were sisters, she didn’t seem to like me at all, and I hadn’t even done anything!”
“Well…That’s…”
“What? Am I just naturally unlikable? Is that why my parents abandoned me, and why Rainbow Dash won’t accept me as her sister? Is that why nothing ever goes right for me!?” Trixie, in her frustration, lost control over the teacup that she had been holding, and dropped it to the ground. The sound of the shattering cup snapped her out of her rage, and she turned her head to look outside the window next to her. “Nopony ever accepts me. I had learned to accept that, and never allowed myself to get close to others.
“But I thought that Rainbow Dash might have been different. After seeing what you had with your sister, I wanted to believe that, maybe, just maybe, Rainbow Dash was somepony who would accept me, and who I could open up to…But, evidently, life isn’t that kind for me. I must have been cursed at birth or something.”
“Now, now, Trixie. Just calm down. Please.” Rarity finished cleaning up the mess caused by Trixie dropping her teacup, and sat back down in front of the depressed showmare. “I know that Rainbow Dash can be stubborn, and can sometimes say hurtful things…But she’s a good pony inside, and I’m sure that, if you simply talk with her, you two can work this out.”
“Fat chance,” Trixie said, “She called me a fillyfooler, and said that I’m neither friend nor family. She practically disowned me as her sister…And now, rather than being abandoned by a family I never knew, I’ve been tossed aside by a family I had once loved…” A tear rolled down Trixie’s face, followed closely by another one.
Trixie got up and started to walk towards the shop’s front door. “Where are you going?” Rarity asked, getting up and following Trixie.
“I want to go lie down. I’m going back to my trailer.”
Rarity smiled weakly, and opened the door for Trixie. “Good idea. A good rest might be just what you need to clear your mind.”
“…Trixie will be out of Ponyville before nightfall,” Trixie mumbled, but it was heard clearly by Rarity, who was about to stop Trixie, but was too late; the showmare used a teleportation spell, and now, Rarity had no idea where she was.
Rarity paced about in her shop, mumbling to herself. “Oh, this isn’t good. I can’t leave things like this, I simply can’t! Maybe…Maybe I should try to find Rainbow and talk some sense into her. Like I would know what to say. Applejack or Twilight would stand a better chance…I’d better not waste any time! The library’s closer. I’ll talk to Twilight first, and then go to the farm to speak with Applejack.”
Rarity left the shop and locked up, and then galloped in the direction of the library.
Rainbow Dash sat in a secluded part of the Everfree forest, at the edge of a cliff top, staring off into the distance. The forest was a dark and gloomy as always, and she had to keep her guard up, in case anything dangerous approached, but right now, she wanted to be alone, so it was the perfect place for her to be.
‘I can’t believe it! I can’t believe I let her trick me like that! There’s no way she can be my sister. It’s just…Impossible!’
“Ah thought you’d be here,” said a voice behind the depressed Pegasus. “This is where you always go whenever yah wanna be alone.”
“Go away, Applejack. I don’t wanna talk to anypony right now.”
Applejack ignored Rainbow Dash, and continued walking towards her. “Now look here Sugarcube. I don’t know what yer opinions on same-sex relations is, an’ I certainly don’t wanna get into a strong discussion about it with you-”
“Good. Then go away.”
“-but, it doesn’t matter what your opinions are. What does matter, is that Trixie’s yer sister. Ye’re family, and family’s always there fer each other.”
“I didn’t even know Trixie existed until the first time I saw her in Ponyville, and you know what happened then! And I only just learned that she was my sister yesterday, so why the hay should I go out of my way to accept her when she’s making such an immoral decision!”
“…Ah didn’t know you could be so close-minded, Dash,” Applejack said, earning a sharp glare from the Pegasus before her. “Yah can’t help who yah like. Why is it so wrong that Trixie likes Twi?”
“It’s not that she like Twilight, it’s that she likes mares! She is a mare! It’s just…Not natural, y’know?”
“Actually, ah don’t know, Rainbow Dash. What I do know, is that if yah hate Trixie because of this, then yah must hate me, too.” Rainbow’s eyes widened, and she looked at Applejack with a look of complete disbelief on her face. “That’s right, Dash. Ah’m one of them…What d’you call them? Fillyfoolers?”
Rainbow stood up, and took a few steps backwards. “N-No…It’s can’t be…Not you too, AJ. You gotta be pulling my leg!”
Applejack shook her head, and continued staring at Rainbow Dash sternly. “‘Fraid not, Dash. And believe me, it was hard for me tah come out and tell mah family ‘bout it, them being so old fashioned an’ all…But they still accepted me, because they’re mah family.”
“NO WAY! YOU’RE LYING! I DON’T BELIEVE IT!” Rainbow Dash shouted, before extending her wings and taking off deeper into the forest.
“Rainbow Dash! Wait!” Applejack shouted. Rainbow didn’t stop, and soon, she disappeared amongst the trees deeper within the Everfree forest. “Rainbow…What in Equestria’s goin’ through that head of yours?”
Twilight raised a hoof and banged it against the door to Trixie’s trailer. “Trixie? Are you in there?”
“No,” came a voice from inside.
“Trixie, I just want to talk to you. Could you let me in, please?”
“Go away. Trixie’s sleeping.” A series of obviously fake snoring sounds started up from inside Trixie’s trailer, and when Twilight tried to open the door, she found that it was locked with magic. Twilight let out a sigh and turned to face Rarity. “I don’t think I can get her to come out.”
“Well, we have to do something,” Rarity said in a panicked voice, “She’s going to leave town! We can’t just let her leave without patching things up with Rainbow Dash.”
“I’m not really sure there’s anything we can do,” Twilight said, her ears drooping and a frown forming on her face. “But you’re right; we can’t just leave things like this. I hope Applejack manages to convince Rainbow Dash to come and talk to her.”
“Sorry, Twi,” Applejack said as she approached her two friends. “Ah tried talkin’ with her, but…Well, let’s just say it didn’t go so well…An’ she went even further into the Everfree forest.”
Rarity and Twilight’s eyes widened at the news, and they both stared at Applejack in shock. “What!?” Twilight shouted, “That’s dangerous! What if something happens to her?”
“Ah know, Twi,” Applejack said, “Ah passed Fluttershy and Raindrops on the way here, and the said that they’d go search for her from the air. We should get goin’, too.”
“But…What about-”
“Hey guys!” a voice called out, interrupting Rarity. The group turned to see two yellow Pegasi approaching. “This is bad!”
The two Pegasi landed in front of the group, and one of them, Fluttershy, started to speak quickly, in a panicked voice. None of the three mares were able to understand her, so Raindrops silenced her and offered to speak instead. “We found Rainbow’s saddlebags in the Everfree forest…Along with some blood around them!”
“WHAT!?” Applejack shouted, staring at Raindrops with wide eyes. “Where!?”
“At the entrance to a timberwolf nesting ground,” Fluttershy said, having calmed down a little bit. “Oh, what if something bad has happened to her? She may be in trouble and need our help. We have to find her, quickly!”
Applejack raised a hoof to shush Fluttershy. “Ok, just calm down y’all.”
Twilight stepped forward and faced Raindrops. “Did you bring back the saddlebags, or anything that belonged to Rainbow Dash? If so, I can cast a tracking spell to find her.”
Before the Pegasus could answer, a loud bang diverted the group’s attention to Trixie’s trailer, where the door was now open, and a blue Unicorn was standing at the entrance. She jumped down onto the ground and broke out into a gallop, heading towards the Everfree forest.
“Trixie! Wait!” Twilight shouted. “C’mon girls! We have to go after her!”
Rainbow groaned as she looked down at the pack of ravenous timberwolves below her. They had her completely surrounded, and were just dying to sink their teeth into her. Luckily, the tree she was in provided good protection. Timberwolves weren’t exactly great climbers, so for now, she was safe.
The bad news? With her wing injured, and with all the blood she had lost from her wound, she was in no state to flee, and she was bound to pass out any second now. ‘No! I have to stay awake! If I fall asleep, I’ll fall, and that’ll be the end of me!’ Rainbow panted heavily, and tried to do whatever she could to stay awake.
‘Damnit…This wouldn’t have happened if Trixie never showed up…Trixie…I didn’t even get to say goodbye…’ Rainbow shook her head, dismissing the thought from her mind. ‘No! She’s not my sister! I don’t care about her at all! Not…One bit… A tear fell from Rainbow’s eye, and she almost fell off the branch she was perched on, before regaining her balance. Rainbow ran the events of the previous week through her head. When her mother revealed the existence of her little sister…
“Please, if you ever find your sister…Don’t let her suffer anymore. Let her have the family that she was denied as a foal.”
“Oh Celestia…I’m such a moron!” Rainbow’s buried her face in her hooves, and struggled to hold back her tears. “Damnit! I can’t die yet! I have to tell her I’m sorry!” Rainbow lost her balance, and fell to the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs. She saw the timberwolves drawing closer, and shut her eyes for the inevitable end. ‘I’m sorry.
“DON’T YOU DARE HARM MY LTITLE SISTER!”
Rainbow’s eyes shot open, but then closed just as quickly as a bright, purple light enveloped the area. She felt her body stopping for a moment, and then being guided through the air. When she could open her eyes again, she was face-to-face with Trixie, who seemed to be upside-down.
“Rainbow Dash, are you ok?”
Rainbow was speechless for a few moments, and simply remained silent as Trixie guided her to the ground behind her. Once Rainbow could move freely, she picked herself up, and watched as Trixie guarded her against the incoming pack of timberwolves. “T-Trixie? But…Why? After what I said to you…”
“Because…Even if you don’t accept Trixie as your sister, to Trixie, you are the only family she’s ever known. And Trixie will protect that family, no matter what.” Trixie looked over her shoulder at a bewildered Rainbow Dash, and grinned at her. “Besides, it’s a big sister’s duty to look after her little sister, right?”
Rainbow gaped and blinked a few times, before returning Trixie’s grin with her own. “Oh yeah? Like I need protecting from somepony like you!” Rainbow walked beside Trixie, and prepared to charge the incoming timberwolves. “I’m Rainbow Dash, future flier for the Wonderbolts! I can take these guys out all on my own!”
Trixie sighed and shook her head. “It seems boasting is hereditary, huh?” Trixie’s horn sparked, and she charged at the pack of timberwolves together with Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash moaned as she and Trixie walked through the Everfree forest. Rainbow had to place her hoof around Trixie’s shoulders, and be carried by her through the forest. Trixie used a spell to help them avoid being detected by any more wild animals.
“Don’t pass out, Rainbow Dash. Trixie doesn’t need this to be any harder on her.”
“…Don’t call me that,” Rainbow said. A frown appeared on Trixie’s face. “You can call me Dash…Trix.”
Trixie looked at Rainbow Dash with a look of surprise, which grew when Rainbow leaned her head against the showmare’s neck, and lightly nuzzled it. “So…Does that mean…You forgive Trixie?”
Rainbow lifted her head up and raised an eyebrow at Trixie. “Forgive you? Why? It’s not like you did anything wrong…” Rainbow frowned and faced the ground. “It was me…I’m the one who stepped out of line. I shouldn’t have yelled at ya like that.”
Trixie remained silent, so Rainbow continued. “Listen, I’d be lying if I said that the idea of two mares together didn’t still make me uncomfortable…” Rainbow noticed Trixie growing uneasy again. “But…Well, I guess I can still accept you. After all, I spent a lot of time talking to you yesterday. You’re not so bad.”
Trixie smiled and leaned closer to her sister, whose face turned red. “Thank you, Dash.”
Rainbow noticed the tears rolling down Trixie’s face, and, with her good wing, she wiped them away. “And, hey, it could be worse!” Rainbow said, trying to lighten the mood. “At least the mare you like is somepony I know.”
Trixie blushed and turned her head away. “Yes, well…Trixie understands if you want her to stay away from Twilight.”
“What?” Rainbow asked. She was about to tell Trixie that she didn’t have to do that, when a thought crossed her mind. “…Hey, Trixie?”
“Trixie! Rainbow Dash!” The two mares turned to see a purple Unicorn, an orange Earth Pony, and a yellow Pegasus approaching them. “Thank goodness you’re ok!” Twilight shouted, stopping in front of the two.
“Man, you really made it hard for us to find you,” Raindrops said, landing next to Rainbow Dash and helping to support her. “For a Unicorn, you’re pretty fast on your hooves.”
“Of course she is!” Rainbow shouted, shooting a smile at Trixie. “She is my sister, after all!”
Applejack and Twilight both shared a smiled, and then turned to Rainbow Dash. “So that means you two’re good now?”
Rainbow nodded, soon followed by Trixie. “Well, that’s good to know,” Twilight said, “But we should probably get out of this place before we start celebrating. C’mon. Let’s go.”
Applejack suddenly remembered something, and turned to Twilight as the group began moving through the forest. “That reminds me. Pinkie said she threw together a party for these two.”
“She did?” Rainbow asked. “Why?”
“She said you two wanted tah make up for all the birthdays y’all missed together.”
Rainbow Dash stared at Applejack with a dumbfounded look on her face. “But…How did she know that!? I was gonna ask her for help, but I haven’t said anything to her about it yet!”
“If Trixie recalls,” Trixie began, “This Pinkie is the one who can break the laws of physics, right?”
Twilight glared at Trixie, whereas Applejack and Raindrops both laughed and agreed. “Eeyup,” Applejack said, “That’s Pinkie alright. Best not to question it, really.”
“SURPRISE!” Pinkie Pie shouted as the group walked inside Sugarcube Corner. They made a quick detour to the library to treat Rainbow’s wounds, which weren’t as bad as they looked. When none of the ponies jumped back in surprise, Pinkie look disappointed and glared at Applejack. “You told them about the party in advance, didn’t you?”
“Well, yah never said anythin’ ‘bout it bein’ a surprise party,” Applejack defended.
Pinkie facehooved hard. “Ugh! Such a rookie mistake!” She removed her hoof and hopped over to Trixie and Rainbow Dash, her smile once again on her face. “Oh well! A party’s still a party! And even better since there are two guests of honour!”
Trixie extended her hoof forward and attempted to introduce herself, but Pinkie grabbed it, started shaking it rapidly, and began speaking too fast for Trixie to follow. “Nice ta meet ya! I’m Pinkie Pie, one of Dash’s best friends! You’re her sister, right! That’s so cool! I didn’t even know she had a sister, but then I also didn’t know she had a griffon friend until I met her. But now that I think about it, you two kinda look similar! And how cool that you’re twins. Now Dash’s birthday parties are gonna be twice as fun!”
Rainbow snickered as Pinkie Pie continued to ambush her with questions, not even giving her a chance to answer as she spoke at a thousand miles an hour. She walked over to Twilight, who was drinking some of the punch. “Hey, Twilight?” Rainbow whispered into her friend’s ear. Twilight turned to face Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah?”
“Can you meet me in Pinkie’s room in about 30 minutes? There’s something I’ve gotta talk to you about.”
Twilight frowned. “Is it about Trixie?”
“…Just meet me there in 30 minutes, alright?”
Twilight sighed and turned back to the buffet table. “Fine,” she said, levitating a cupcake into the air.
“Great!” Rainbow shouted, also turning to the table and checking the food.
Twilight waited nervously in Pinkie’s room. Rarity had told Twilight that Rainbow got mad at Trixie for liking mares, and in her panic, accidentally let it slip that Twilight was the mare that Trixie liked. Twilight had to admit, she was sort of happy when she heard that news. And the more she thought about it, the more she realised she was harbouring similar feelings for Trixie.
But when she saw Rainbow Dash earlier, in the Everfree forest, even though she seemed to have made up with Trixie, it was clear that she still wasn’t ok with Trixie’s attraction towards mares. Twilight was sure that Rainbow was going to talk to her about this. That she was going to try and convince her to stay away from Trixie, or at the very least, the turn her down.
‘What should I tell her? I can’t just turn Trixie down when I have the same feelings towards her, but if I don’t turn her down, I could end up losing one of my closest friends!’ The door began to open, and Twilight took a deep, relaxing breath. ‘Ok, Twilight, you can do this! Just do what you do best: lecture her! Make her see that there’s nothing wrong with two mares loving each other!’
A blue hoof stepped into the room, and Twilight readied herself to enter “lecture mode”, but stopped when the rest of the pony entered the room. “Trixie?” Twilight asked in surprise.
Trixie was also just as surprised, and it showed on her face as she stared at Twilight with wide eyes. “T-Twilight!? What are you doing here!?”
“Me!? Rainbow asked me to meet her here! What about you?”
“Dash asked Trixie to meet her here too!”
An awkward silence passed between the two, before Twilight finally realised what was going on. ‘…Well played, Rainbow Dash…’
‘Did Dash set this up for Trixie and Twilight? Does this mean…Is she telling Trixie that it’s ok to go after her?’
Trixie smiled and walked closer to Twilight, shutting the door behind her as she entered the room. “Twilight…There’s something that Trixie needs to tell you.”
Twilight felt her face becoming hot as Trixie approached, and tried to back up, but found that she was unable to move her legs. ‘Is she…Is she going to confess to me? But…What about Rainbow Dash? I can’t…I can’t ruin things between them, not when they just patched things up!’
“Twilight,” Trixie began, but was cut off by Twilight.
“No, Trixie!” Twilight shouted, startling Trixie. “I know what you’re going to say, but I can’t accept your feelings. Not if it’ll cause trouble between you and Rainbow Dash.”
“But-”
“I’m sorry, Trixie,” Twilight said, holding back her tears. “But I just can’t be the cause of any more conflict between you two. Please understand, I-”
“OH COME ON!” shouted a voice from outside. Twilight recognised the voice as Rainbow Dash’s. “FORGET ABOUT THAT! DO YOU LIKE HER OR NOT!?”
Twilight’s eyes widened, and she turned back to Trixie, who looked just as surprised to suddenly hear Rainbow’s voice from outside the room. The voice was quickly followed by another telling her to be quiet, and then silence filled the room once more.
Twilight and Trixie stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, and then Trixie took a step forward, and leaned in towards Twilight. Twilight also leaned in, and connected her lips with Trixie’s.
The two stayed like that for a few moments, before separating and staring into each other’s eyes again. The moment ended when the door suddenly slammed open, and they both turned to see Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack standing at the door.
“Congrats, you two!” Applejack shouted, grinning at the two mares.
“WOOHOO!” Pinkie cheered, hopping into the room. “Now I’ve got an excuse to throw a party tomorrow, too!”
Rainbow Dash walked up to her sister and friend, and smiled at them. “I’m happy for you, Trix,” she said, causing Trixie to smile back. “And Twilight, sorry.”
Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “What for?”
Rainbow grinned at Trixie. “For getting stuck with her, of course! She can be a real pain, y’know?”
Trixie scowled at her sister. “How dare you!? Trixie is a pain? What about you?”
Rainbow raised her eyebrow. “What about me?”
The rest of the ponies in the room laughed as Trixie and Rainbow Dash argued over which one was the most annoying, before stopping them so that they could go back to the party.
“Why did you have Twilight cast that spell on Trixie again?” Trixie asked as she walked beside Rainbow Dash, who was flying next to her. “Trixie is fine with sleeping in her trailer tonight.”
“What d’ya mean?” Rainbow asked, flying above Trixie and picking her up, much to Trixie’s annoyance. “We still have a lot of missed time to catch up on. Playing games, telling funny stories from when we were at school, talking ‘bout which ponies we think are hot…Oh! And staying up late to watch horror movies!”
Trixie couldn’t help but laugh at Rainbow’s enthusiasm, but had to admit that it sounded good to her. “So you want Trixie to hold you so you don’t get scared?”
“Pft, get real! I don’t get scared of nothing!”
“That’s a double negative, Dash.”
“D’ya want me to drop you?” Rainbow asked in a threatening tone.
“Oh no, Trixie is so scared,” Trixie responded in a sarcastic tone. The two continued their mock fight all the way up to Rainbow’s cloud home, and when Trixie touched down on the cloud, Rainbow changed the topic.
“Trix…You’ll be leaving Ponyville soon, won’t you?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. Trixie has to get back on the road soon.”
Rainbow frowned and looked down at the cloud flooring beneath her. “But…You’ll come back, right?”
Trixie patted Rainbow’s head, annoying the Pegasus and causing her to back away. “Of course Trixie will be back. Trixie may spend her time travelling…But now, she has a home to come back to in-between her shows.”
Rainbow smiled and began walking inside her home, followed by Trixie. “Great! In that case, make sure you get me some souvenirs for when you come back!”
“Alternatively, maybe you could come and watch some of Trixie’s shows. Trixie will even let you help in some of her acts.”
Rainbow grinned and extended her hoof to Trixie. Trixie stared at it curiously for a second, and then realised that this was what was referred to at school as a “brohoof”. She lifted her own hoof and extended it to bump into her sister’s. “Sounds like a plan!”
