//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Love's a Roller Coaster Ride // by The Lord Thunder //------------------------------// Starlight pushed open the dining room patio door that was only one table away from the one where Trixie and Maud sat. She continued on, trotting across the dining room floor and into the restroom hallway next to the check in counter. Once Starlight had passed by, Trixie and Maud faded back into view with a sparkle from Trixie’s horn. Trixie gasped for air, as she’d been holding her breath to avoid detection. “That was too close, Maud. We gotta get out of here.” Trixie left a waiter’s tip on the table and stood up. Maud wordlessly stood up from the table, offered a tip herself and placed Boulder back in the pocket of her dress. She glanced around for a moment, then pointed her hoof towards an open doorway on the opposite end of the restaurant from the front counter. Trixie’s eyes followed Maud’s hoof. That open doorway led to a gift shop. “Good idea, Maud. We’ll just blend in there.” Trixie stood up and followed Maud. “Jeez, those two ponies are as oblivious as a couple of rocks.” “Rocks have feelings, too,” Maud said. Trixie rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.” “You hurt Boulder’s feelings. Apologize.” “The Great and Powerful Trixie would never apologize to an inanimate-” Trixie stopped on the words, feeling the weight of Maud’s blank gaze upon her. She heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes again. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, Boulder.” Maud blinked, then answered, “he forgives you.” There were all sorts of little trinkets and collectibles in Dim Sum’s gift shop, far more so than Trixie had originally imagined. Many of them were distinctively Eastern in design; snake-like dragons, little vases with cherry blossoms painted on them and tiny porcelain ponies; some wearing the classic conical straw hats, others equipped with weapons and armor from the ancient dynasties, and a few stereotypical looking geishas. An orange glass orb, about the size of a volleyball with seven white stars painted on it nabbed Trixie’s attention. She rubbed its smooth, globular surface, mildly amused at her distorted reflection. “Hey, Maud, there’s a lot of neat stuff in here. What is this, some kind of crystal ball, or-” “No,” Maud interrupted. Trixie watched the earth pony’s face appear beside her own on the surface of the orb. “It’s glass. Just for decoration.” Trixie saw her own reflection scoff. “Well, that’s boring. What a letdown.” She turned away from the seven-starred orb and looked around a bit more, noticing something that struck her as unusual. There were cricket-themed merchandise everywhere, in all shapes and sizes. Some made of glass, some out of metal and even a few plush crickets among the various shelves. “What’s with all the crickets?” “In the east, crickets are a symbol of good luck and prosperity,” Maud explained. Trixie turned to her, raising an eyebrow. “Weird. How do you know that?” “I travelled to Hayjing and Furlong Kong for my Rocktorate. I learned a lot there. A little bit of history. But mostly about rocks.” “I don’t get it.” Trixie shook her head. “To me, crickets are just noisy pests.” Her gaze rested on a tiny green jeweled cricket attached to a faux silver necklace. “I guess this one’s kind of pretty. Jade cricket, huh?” Maud moved closer, inspecting it. “It’s not real jade. It’s glass.” “You’re a real killjoy, you know that?” Trixie said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed one of the necklaces with her magic. Trixie set the jade cricket down on the gift shop’s checkout counter and did a double take. The glass locking case beneath the counter housed various weapons: Swords, nunchucks, knives and throwing stars. The sight of one of them, a long metal handle attached to an iron ball with spikes protruding from every angle, made Trixie cringe. “Ouch,” was all Trixie could say of it. Indeed, the thought of taking a blow to the head from that thing was unpleasant. “Oh, you interested?” the shopkeeper asked. “Give me price, we make deal.” “Nononono,” Trixie held up a hoof to stifle him. After being corrupted by the alicorn amulet, she wanted nothing to do with things designed to harm ponies. “I might be a great and powerful magician, but juggling knives and swallowing swords aren’t part of my act. Trixie is not interested in your instruments of murder. I just want this necklace.” As she completed her purchase, Trixie glanced into the dining room to be sure Starlight wasn’t coming back. Her friend nowhere in sight, Trixie heaved a sigh of relief and stuffed the jade cricket in her saddlebag. “Thank you very much,” the shopkeeper said with a bow, “and come again.” With her souvenir in tow, Trixie turned her sights back to Maud and her mind to more important matters. “So, how else can we get them to open up to each other about how they really feel? I wonder if we could find a way to get Sunburst to do something for Starlight, but make it seem like it’s his idea. What do you think, Maud?” “Starlight likes kites.” “Wha?” Maud pointed to a rack of brochures for local attractions, one of them having a picture of an airborne kite on it. Trixie grabbed the pamphlet and read it out loud. “Now open: Las Pegasus Kite Emporium.  The largest kite collection within 300 miles. Antiques on display. Come see us on the corner of Mane and 3rd.” Trixie squealed, tapping her front hooves together. “Brilliant, Maud! If we get Sunburst to see this, maybe he’ll take Starlight there. She’ll love him for that!” “Mm-hm.” Maud nodded. *** Sunburst tapped his front hooves on the table, his mind trying to sort out the mixed emotions he’d been feeling. Happy. Peaceful. Nervous. Anxious. What did it all mean? He silently cursed himself, for all his vast knowledge of magic and wizardry didn’t hold the answer. All he knew was he felt a strong, profound desire to do something for Starlight, to see her happy. But what? Almost as if to answer him, a small pamphlet, the type one would normally see lined up on racks at hotels and popular tourist spots, landed on the table after riding a gentle breeze. Sunburst clamped a hoof down on the pamphlet to keep it from blowing away again, his face wrinkling in disgust. Jeez, I wish ponies wouldn’t litter so much. Is it really that hard to- His thoughts were cut short at a sudden burst of inspiration as he looked at the pamphlet under his hoof. The Las Pegasus Kite Emporium? Of course! What a surprise that’ll be. She’ll love it! Sunburst’s heart thumped with excitement. He couldn’t wait to see Starlight’s smile and watch those beautiful eyes light up with joy when he brought her there.