//------------------------------// // Present Day - The Best Night Ever (just not for Trixie) // Story: The Legend of Trixie // by Ninjadeadbeard //------------------------------// 25 Twilight, Canterlot Palace It was the best night ever. Every year, it was the best night ever. Just get through these ridiculous greetings, and it will be the Best. Night. Ever. No matter how many times Princess Twilight Sparkle repeated that lie to herself, she wondered how Celestia had managed to keep that beatific smile for the hours and hours she had to stand at the doors to Canterlot Palace, greeting every trussed up noble and self-important bigwig who’d weaseled their way into acquiring a ticket for themselves and their dates to the Grand Galloping Gala. She was considering Luster’s proposal from last year. Her student had perfected a muscle-tightening spell by pure accident, and after an… initial panicked outbreak of a ‘pony-freezing plague’… swore to the formula’s safety in small dosages. Would be nice to keep her smile up at times like this. The Friendship Letter from that one was certainly entertaining. Even Celestia laughed when I forwarded it to her, she thought, her smile briefly becoming genuine as she shook the hoof of a unicorn she neither knew, nor cared to know, but was aware he owned an obscene number of plastic factories. Some of which, even, didn’t contribute to his wife’s appearance. “Welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala,” Twilight said, so mechanically she might have been mistaken for an equimatronic at Whimseyland or another theme park, “I am most pleased to see you tonight.” The earth pony guardsmare who she’d said this to blushed furiously under her blue coat and heavy armor. “Um… thank you, Princess…” “Oh, sorry, Rock Solid!” the Princess facehoofed, “I was on auto-pilot there for a bit.” “It’s no big deal, Your Majesty,” the guard nodded understandingly, then grinned, “I remember you greeting empty air last year.” Princess Twilight grinned sheepishly, and chuckled at the memory. Then, she looked about, only to find that Lieutenant Solid was the only pony or creature sharing the entryway with her. “No more guests?” she leaned down, her own grin widening. “Affirmative, ma’am. Ticket count has been verified. No unauthorized beings have been detected on the grounds… except for Discord,” the guard’s own smile tightened. Twilight nodded acceptance. ‘Except for Discord’ was practically on the Royal Letterhead these days. If the Princess hadn’t gotten assurances from Fluttershy that she, Discord, and the children, would be taking an out-of-universe vacation during the Gala, she’d have kept a better eye-out for the old Draconequus. “Good! Thank you, Lieutenant,” Twilight said, glancing towards the Gala itself, “Then I shall take this opportunity to mingle. You can take your break now, if you’d like.” Solid bowed slightly to her sovereign. “Thank you, Your… oh!” her eyes lit up for a moment as she recalled something important, “Lord Spike wanted you to know your expected letter was delivered just now.” The Princess’s eyebrows raised, then furrowed, “And… Lord Spike didn’t deliver this message himself because…?” The guard shuffled her hooves, and the Princess could detect a single sweat drop making its way down her muzzle. “Um… apparently he and Lady Rarity…” Twilight threw her head back and groaned, as dramatic as anything Rarity herself had done and then some. When she brought her head back around, her annoyance was there, though plainly cut by a smirk. “Those two are impossible somedays…” The Princess finally let the smirk take its place. She leaned down again, and gave her guard a conspiratorial whisper, “Oh well. Let them have their fun. Once the baby arrives, it’s going to be work, work, work for those two. I’d like to see them do more than sneak off to nap at that point! “Now,” she regained her regal bearing and tossed her head in the direction of the barracks, “You’re dismissed, Lieutenant. Have the night off, in fact.” The guard nodded enthusiastically, and immediately made her way from the Gala with all due haste. Twilight laughed, seeing such spritely behavior in her guards. But she couldn’t stand there all night. She had a Gala to enjoy. But first… with the arrival of that letter, a letter she didn’t doubt came from her and Daring Do’s little historical project… Twilight knew she wanted to talk to one pony in particular tonight. She just had to figure out where, in all the merry festivities, she would find that Great and Powerful Showpony. The Gala was in prime form this year, Twilight noted. Pinkie had outdone herself, somehow pairing Prince Blueblood’s high-society style with just the right amount of whimsy. The ice-sculptures had been swapped out for ice-cream-sculptures, the string orchestra had been partly converted to electronic and electric instruments, and she’d managed to fit an entire relay-obstacle-course into the East Wing, which delighted even the most stuck-up social parasites in attendance. The Princess assumed her friend was taking a cake-break out in the gardens about this time. The only other pony she immediately recognized was the Prince himself, and he was fulfilling his most important duty of the night; keeping the social parasites focused on him instead of Twilight. She was most grateful for this service, as it allowed her a chance to spy out the crowd and pin down her ultimate target. Trixie Lulamoon was near the back of the West Wing, milling about the buffet and drinks tables, watching the rest of the guests partake in a round of dancing. Princess Twilight kept to the edge of the dancers, hugging the palace walls so close she might as well have been a mural. Due to the distance, it took the Alicorn a minute to cross the hall and get near enough to engage her once-imagined-rival. “Trixie!” she smiled as she approached. Trixie hadn’t really changed that much over the last few years. Her coat was still bright, and she’d kept in remarkably good shape. Probably a result of her performances, which she refused to fully cancel even after taking up her Counselor job so many years ago. She even wore her light purple robe-like dress to the Gala. Trixie, a glass of red punch held in her magical aura, turned around and gave the Princess a hard look. “Evening, Sparkle,” she sighed, “But before you accuse me of any wrongdoing, let it be known that Trixie was given a ticket for this little event of yours!” Twilight’s genuine smile faded, “Um, Trixie? I know.” “See!” the blue showmare reached into her dress and drew out a folded piece of paper. It looked like somepony had scribbled down one side of it. “I even got the mailchangeling to write me a receipt! So, who’s forging documents now, hm?” Twilight stared, unimpressed, at the smug-angry expression Trixie shot her. “Trixie, I know. I sent you that ticket.” “… you did?” Twilight nodded. Trixie narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and took another long sip of her punch. She let the receipt drop to the floor. “Well,” she shrugged, “I guess you’ve successfully lured me here then. I didn’t even need to hop the fence this time.” “When did you hop the…?” Trixie went on, heedless, “Nevertheless, you’ve succeeded, as I’ve said! So now, go ahead. Get your gloating out of the way.” The Princess found herself fidgeting slightly. Her wings ruffled, and her hooves itched with nervous energy. She was clearly missing something here, and missing out on information was something she could not abide. “Trixie?” she asked, gingerly, ears flattening atop her head, “Is… is something the matter?” Trixie huffed, “Oh, I don’t know, Sparkle. Maybe you just wanted me to see how much bigger your palace is than the hoof-me-down you let Starlight keep. Newsflash, Princess!” she hissed the title, “We both live in castles! It isn’t that impressive!” This… was a very strange conversation. Twilight started thinking up, not only her potential responses, but a couple of different ways she could steer this conversation back to normalcy. Or, at least whatever was closest to normalcy when Trixie was involved. Said unicorn was busy polishing off her punch. And she looked ready to go for a refill. Twilight sighed, “Trixie, I didn’t come here to complain, or to gloat, or to fight you at all. I just wanted to ask you some questions about your… time travel incident.” “Why?” Trixie poured herself another glass, “So you can tell Trixie how historically preposterous whatever I say is?” Twilight winced. She had said something like that, decades ago, when Trixie had hopped merrily back to the present day, after apparently spending over a year trapped in ancient Equestria. She probably wouldn’t believe her story now, except that Daring had started finding evidence… Clearly, and the Princess didn’t know why she didn’t think this would be the case, Trixie was holding a grudge. But, as Twilight went to apologize… something she was starting to realize she should have done years ago, and not just because she’d found a slightly more reliable document to compare Trixie’s current memories to… the showmare pitched to one side, and only barely got her hooves out under herself before she could smack straight into the floor. “Trixie!” Twilight surged forward, catching Trixie’s falling punch cup in her magic before it could shatter, and the showmare herself with one of her large wings. Trixie’s face was flushed. She was awake, but the Princess could see her eyes were just now refocusing, as if she’d dozed off. “Oh,” a blue hoof touched Trixie’s forehead, feeling the light fever in her temples, “Uh, guess I… overdid it there…” Twilight held her up, and began walking them both towards a small service hall off to the side. Nocreature seemed to notice them, with the sole exception of Blueblood, who shot Twilight a concerned, quizzical look. He continued his vigil against the vile social climbers surrounding him, however, obviously trusting his sovereign to deal with whatever was happening. Once the two were a ways from the party, Twilight let Trixie stand on her own four hooves. Trixie had seemingly recovered from her short lapse, but she did not protest Twilight’s support. In fact, she looked almost ashamed, even remorseful, once they’d stopped. “Trixie, is everything okay?” “Oh, I’m fine, Twilight,” she waved down the Princess’s concern, “I’ve been coming down with something all week.” There was that wince again, and a look of embarrassment in her eyes. “I… Trixie is sorry for how she was behaving,” she looked away, “I’ve been sick. There’s a tough couple of cases back at the School… you know how tough dragons can be on their kids… and it’s still a school night. And… I’ve just been feeling a little down lately. But those aren’t excuses. Not good ones.” Twilight smiled, sadly, and nodded. “I understand completely. You’re not up to it tonight. I wish you’d stayed home and taken care of yourself instead. I hate seeing you like this.” “Pathetic?” Trixie smiled, but there wasn’t much laughter behind it. “Angry,” Twilight nodded, “Resentful. Like you and I used to be. I thought… I thought we were friends. Good friends. Not like back then.” Trixie sighed, “I know. It… just comes out. Like the third-pony thing,” she chuckled, but that set off a short burst of coughing. “Trixie,” Twilight raised her head up, taking a commanding pose, “I order you to go home, and get some rest. Tell Starlight you need a few days off, as well. You’re exhausted!” “I thought you had questions?” Trixie asked, though Twilight could almost hear the weariness in her tone. “Next time,” the Princess shook her head, “Your health comes first.” Trixie looked up into Twilight’s eyes. She didn’t move, didn’t say anything. After a few moments, she sighed… and seemed to almost deflate when she did so. “Alright, I’ll head home. Sorry about… all this, Sparkle,” she turned, and started heading approximately back towards the front of the Palace, “Next time, I promise… Trixie will be better.” Princess Twilight sighed. Well, there went the chance to talk about Hyneighria, Starswirl, or anything like that tonight. She supposed she would have to take solace in a new update from Daring. Still, as Twilight watched Trixie walk away, she couldn’t shake the cold, sinking feeling in her stomach. There was something about the way Trixie was walking, something that bothered her. It was like she didn’t have any energy, like she was carrying some huge weight across her withers that was holding her down. The way Trixie had deflated struck Twilight. Trixie never just let things slide, no matter how much she’d improved over the years. It was… disconcerting. The Princess sighed, relegating her fears to the back of her mind, where they belonged. She needed to put in an appearance at the Gala before turning in to read Daring’s report, so, with no small amount of trepidation, she turned around… Only to nearly run over two very familiar ponies. Prince Blueblood and Celeste Lulamoon, Trixie’s daughter by Starswirl, and Twilight’s once-student of magic, stared up at the Princess of Friendship with worried frowns. “Your Majesty,” Blueblood raised an eyebrow, “Is everything all right?” Celeste pointed her hoof down the corridor, “Yeah, what’s going on with you and Mom?” Twilight glanced back over her shoulder, noting that Trixie had fully disappeared around the corner. She sighed, and turned back to her two closest companions at the Palace, besides Spike. “Trixie’s not feeling well,” she said, “I was trying to talk to her about… something, and she almost collapsed. Blueblood?” The stallion stood a bit straighter. His attitude wasn’t always perfect, but he had grown by leaps and bounds since the first time Twilight, or rather, Rarity, had met him. His professionalism now did him credit. “I want a guard escort for Trixie, but I don’t want her to notice them. Could you order a few Batponies to follow her and make sure she doesn’t get hurt on her way home?” “It will be done,” the Prince took off at a quick canter towards where they both knew the nearest guard station in the Palace lay. Twilight watched him disappear, and then turned back towards… A grinning Celeste. “So,” the gray unicorn mare smirked and spoke in a slow, teasing tone, “You tried to ask her about her journal?” Twilight deadpanned, and then turned an inquisitive eye onto her student. “That journal is classified. Princess-level, as far as I recall.” “Yeah, well,” Celeste blinked, innocently, “If you didn’t want me to read your classified stuff, you should have used harder spells to lock the documentation away.” “I used the best cypher-spells known to ponykind,” Twilight sighed. To which Celeste merely sniffed, and said, “Guess I’m just as awesome and powerful as I think I am.” The two stood silently in the hall, facing the other with stony stoicism. Neither blinked. Neither fidgeted. Then, as though on cue, they both giggled. The two let the tenseness of the moment before pass with their laughter, and after another minute, they could both regard each other with their usual comfort and casualness. “Alright,” Twilight smiled, “I’ll let you take an official look at the reports. Happy?” Celeste nodded, “Thank you. Considering the only reason I was born was Mom time traveling, I think that’s fair. Need me to smooth anything over with her?” Twilight shook her head, “Not at the moment. I didn’t get to bring it up. Just… take care of her? For the next couple of days, at least.” Celeste rolled her eyes, “You know, she complains that I don’t spend enough time with her already, and I’m over there four nights a week. I think she suspects you’re trying to steal me from her.” The Princess winked. “Well, why not? I get all of Trixie’s talent, without… alright, so the ego’s still there,” she tittered, “but I got to house-train you.” “Okay! Okay!” the unicorn started walking away, back towards the Gala, “I get it! You love me! I’m going to save both our dignities and get some punch. You coming?” Twilight shook her head. “No, I’m not feeling it anymore. I think I’ll… do some light reading.” Celeste nodded, knowingly, but left things at that. The Princess let a bit of her magic flow, and with nary an effort, she had popped away. Her private chamber appeared around her with that flash of purple light, and Twilight could sigh in relief. No more Gala. No worrying about Trixie, or Celeste, right now. She removed her regalia and set it on its stand by her door, and then she turned eagerly back towards her luxurious, purple bed. There was a brown paper package right in the middle of the bed. With an experimental brush of her magic, she could tell it was a heavy stack of paper. Probably heavily annotated. Ancient, yet not ancient. “Now, Trixie,” she mused as she tore at the packaging, “Let’s see what happened to you after reaching Hyneighria…”