Twilight had to hand it to Pinkie Pie, she’d been right.
It was much easier to have a conversation with friends than she’d anticipated. Now that she was getting caught up in the flow she even started noticing a few little things.
Like the way, Applejack had been oddly quiet while the others chatted about their own hometowns. Her eyes didn’t follow the current speaker at all but had focused on Trixie, almost as if she was having an internal debate.
Apparently, she’d resolved it just now, as Applejack sat up straight and cleared her throat. “Trixie, beg yer pardon, but...”
Trixie turned. “Yes?”
“Ya mentioned this here being yer first year as a solo act...” Applejack started up cautiously. There was a tenseness about her as if she’d forgotten whether a library book was due today or yesterday. Perhaps even more serious.
“Relax, AJ,” Rainbow Dash cut in. “Already checked. Her mom’s fine. Right, Trixie?”
“Right… but…” Trixie looked around the room. Everypony was now starting to look as tense as Applejack had been. She fiddled with her hooves, hesitating as though she wasn’t entirely certain how to proceed. “She… can’t walk around as much anymore and had to retire last year. Trixie said The Great and Powerful Trixie would be fine alone, but…”
There was a quiet moment where seemingly everypony present expected Trixie to follow up with a boastful ‘minor setback’ type statement, but it never came. Maybe this wasn’t about shielding her own ego, but feeling like she failed her mother?
Was Trixie acting? Or was she truly showing a vulnerable side of herself?
Twilight noticed movement just below the edge of the table and leaned sideways slightly to catch a better look.
Rainbow Dash was snaking a foreleg around Trixie’s waist.
Was she really going to tickle her again, now? At least Rainbow Dash had the decency to look conflicted about it this time, but still.
However, Pinkie Pie leaped up excitedly in an explosion of confetti, startling Rainbow Dash into withdrawing in the blink of an eye.
“Oh my gosh! This is so great!” Pinkie Pie chirped cheerfully without any regard for the damped mood either. “We’ll do lots of magic show parties to practice and then finally we can throw your mom a big surprise party so she can have fun too and see how it went! I’m so excited to be partners!”
“What?” Twilight sat up straight with a start. “Since when are you two partners?”
“Uh, good question.” Trixie looked just as surprised as she was.
Maybe she hadn’t gotten to Pinkie Pie after all?
“Silly, did you forget already? It was only yesterday!” She pulled out a calendar that had the day in question circled with a little balloon that read ‘new friend’. Every other day also had that balloon. “Then again, I guess Applejack did storm in right after and we had that whole Zecora thing going on, so it's okay if it slipped your mind. It was right after you and Rarity decided to work on a costume. Oh! How did that go!?”
“Right. That did happen. There were so many distractions.” Trixie rubbed her temple as though she was nursing a headache, but the slight pull upward on the edge of her lips indicated she was pleased to have this distraction. “Why not. Let’s give that a try!”
“As to your question, Darling. We merely took some measurements. It’s a delicate process you know.” Rarity threw a quick glance at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. “The whole creative process can take weeks! There is simply no way it would be done already unless somepony ordered a month in advance.”
Pinkie Pie deflated just a little. “Aw, that’s so long. Oh, well!”
“Tell me about it.” Spike said. “I once tried to patch up a few holes in my socks and it took me half a day. Not to finish fixing them, but to realize I don’t even wear socks.”
A brief chorus of giggles and groans was followed by a sudden thump sound below the table.
“Gah!” Rainbow Dash pulled back and rubbed her shin while glaring at Rarity across the table. “What was that for?”
“Ahem, I said… There’s simply no way.” Rarity locked eyes with her and then Fluttershy in turn and wiggled her eyebrows.
Poor Rainbow Dash finally got the hint, letting her catch up to everypony else in the room.
Even Trixie was passing confused looks back and forth. “What’s going on?”
“Well, uhm...” Rainbow Dash struggled for words and looked over to Fluttershy of all ponies for assistance. Seeming to realize her own mistake, she simply pulled the parcel out from under the table and unceremoniously plopped it down in front of Trixie. “Here. I got... It’s from all of us.”
Twilight raised a brow.
That wasn’t true at all. Most of them didn’t even know what was in there. She certainly didn’t.
“Ohh, what is this? An offering to appease The Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie chuckled and eyed the blue wrapping paper for a moment while she gave the package a shake. It didn’t make any sound, but it was obviously soft and squishy by the way her hooves sunk into it. “Mhm, whatever could it be? If only there were some context clues.”
“I’m gonna let that one slide, but you are on notice.” Rainbow Dash shook a hoof at her.
Trixie stuck out her tongue tauntingly and pulled off the blue ribbon with a flourish and unfurled the contents in a single motion.
It was clothes. That explained why Rarity was involved.
A purple cloak and hat, each adorned in a familiar star pattern.
Twilight recognized it even though she’d only seen it once before. The same dusty outfit that Trixie had worn for her show. Except, they looked as if they were brand new, but that was impossible.
She didn’t quite know all the details, but Trixie had dropped grouching hints that she’d lost her hat in the Everfree Forest. Just earlier this evening, in fact.
“You made a replica?” Twilight asked Rarity.
“No,” Trixie answered, turning the cloak over in her hooves, starry-eyed. Or maybe that was just the reflection of the pattern. “Trixie would recognize these anywhere. It’s the real deal! But how? The hat was lost and the cloak destroyed...”
“Pfft, I picked that hat up like an hour after you dropped it. It was as easy as taking a chew toy from a timberwolf!” Rainbow Dash flexed with a grin then looked towards Rarity. “Which was about, what? A month ago?”
Rarity returned a smile. “Yes, plenty of time for proper restorations to be made. As for the cloak, really now, as if our dear Fluttershy would ever simply throw something out. She’d have used it as birdnesting or some sort. Isn’t that right, darling?”
“Sounds about right,” Spike chuckled.
Meanwhile, Trixie was already donning her cloak and levitated the hat over her head, giddy like a school filly with a new book assignment.
“N-no. I mean, yes? Uhm…” Fluttershy had her eyes firmly in her lap, seemingly her solution to being unsure where to look when all eyes were suddenly on her. “I-I didn’t really do anything. Rarity did a wonderful job, uhm, and it was Rainbow Dash’s idea.”
“Nonsense, you had to keep Trixie in the dark! A difficult feat when Trixie’s so radi—Wait...” Trixie froze for a second and then all the delight drained from her face leaving just dawning horror. “...You let Trixie think you burned it up, and Trixie yelled at you for it!”
“Oh, that’s okay. It was my fault, I, uhm, I should have thought up a better excuse.” Fluttershy shrank slightly, finding some cover from the table at this point that her mane was failing to provide.
When did Fluttershy get that hairpin, anyway?
“No, Trixie will make it up to you, somehow.” Trixie slipped from her seat then wrapped Fluttershy in a quick hug. After a moment, she pried one hoof away and reached out to pull Rainbow Dash in as well. “Thank you. All of you.”
“What? Don’t I get a hug?” Rarity was on the edge of her proverbial seat, leaning halfway across the table and resting her head on her hooves. If she was pretending to be disappointed she probably should have kept her tail from swishing back and forth as if she were a dog spotting a treat. “We might start thinking you girls are playing favorites.”
It must have been warm so close together, as all three of them quickly grew redder in the face.
“You gotta get closer, silly!” Pinkie Pie said, probably. By the time Twilight looked toward her, the seat was already empty. The next moment she sprung up behind the trio and embraced them all at once. “Group hug!”
“Ah’m good, thanks. Ya just give em a squeeze fer tha rest of us, Pinkie.” Applejack raised her mug. “Anyhow, it’s getting late. Think we could start wrapping up?”
“Of course.” Twilight would never suggest she was eager to get rid of her friends, but after a couple hours of this, she’d welcome the return of peace and quiet. Beside, there was reading and thinking to be done.
A lot of thinking, actually.
“Aw,” Rarity pouted. “It was just getting interesting too.”
“Okey-dokey-lokey!” Pinkie was surprisingly on board with ending the party, drawing stares from everypony else.
Rainbow Dash was the first to ask. “You feeling alright, Pinkie?”
“What? I’m just looking forward to the afterparty!”
“Until next time!” Trixie took her first hasty steps into the cool night air.
It had been a good time and everything, but the library did get a bit stuffy with eight friends hanging out for a couple hours. Well, seven friends and one pretend friend who also was really stuffy now that she thought about it, but who was counting, anyway.
Had the breeze always felt this good?
It was funny. She didn’t think she’d missed the sensation of the wind rippling the brim of her hat. Or the billowing of her cape. But now that she was experiencing it once again, she could barely believe she’d survived without it.
She paused and closed her eyes for a moment to allow herself to enjoy the feeling.
Behind her, she could hear the others saying their individual goodbyes.
Soon, Fluttershy would catch up to her for the trek home. She could already hear her trotting up from behind.
Trixie pranced off into the night. This stupid Zecora business was over, Fluttershy had finally talked with Dashie, and she was the Great and Powerful Trixie with her starry hat and cape again. Things were finally off to a good start!
"Trixie?” Rainbow Dash said behind her. "We need to talk."
Trixie sucked in a breath. “Trixie blames herself for this.”
“What?”
“Nothing!” Trixie spun around with a swish of her cloak to greet Rainbow Dash with a smile. “Trixie would love to talk. It’s only all we’ve been doing for the past couple of hours. What’s a few more minutes?”
That’s right. There was only one reason Rainbow Dash would wait till they were alone to speak to her. This had to be about Fluttershy’s talk with Rainbow Dash, and she already knew that had gone fine.
Granted, she had hoped to quietly go their own ways and let Fluttershy fill her in on the specifics at home before she’d have to speak to Rainbow Dash about it.
Fluttershy was standing back near the library. Maybe the plan was to give them some space, but it would be great if the girl wasn’t biting her lip like a nervous wreck. Clearly, she wasn’t sure what was going on. Which had to mean Rainbow Dash was off-script.
Great...
Even Rainbow Dash looked nervous despite her confident approach. Typical of her to leap without looking. “So, uh, today was fun, right?”
“Yes?”
Trixie waited for the point to arrive. Now that she realized everypony was nervous, she strangely felt a bit more secure. In fact, she was pretty sure she’d just figured out tonight’s final act.
With a sly grin, she glanced over to Fluttershy before returning to Rainbow Dash. “It was fun to share some time with you both. It’s been too long. And the rest of the girls were okay too, Trixie supposes, but that was her favorite part.”
“Great. I’m glad you had a good time. Uhm.” Rainbow Dash straightened her shoulders and returned the smile. “What if we did that a little more often? I… I just, uhm, I think maybe Fluttershy would like that too. What do you, uh, think of her anyway?”
Subtle as a firecracker. Well, if Rainbow Dash was gauging her interest like this, that had to mean Fluttershy had not mentioned this was her idea. Then, Dashie was hoping to coax out her opinion on dating Fluttershy without actually asking? Trixie could play along with that.
“Fluttershy? Well, Trixie likes her a lot, she supposes? That sweetheart is kind and soft and caring… but also strong if she needs to be you know? Thankfully, that’s not often. Trixie wouldn’t know what to do without her.”
Trixie did her best to keep looking at Rainbow Dash, but focused on her peripheral vision, where she found Fluttershy.
Oh, poor Fluttershy. She’d given the conversation a respectable distance, but sound carried so well on quiet nights. She stood there quietly attempting to shrink into nothingness just from a few minor complements.
Trixie should be nice to her.
Should.
“Oh, and she makes the cutest noises,” Trixie added with a perfectly innocent tone.
“Eep!”
“Yeah, she does.” Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder at Fluttershy, who wilted even further. “She’s really cool when she stands up for others. Must have been following my awesome example! She’s not great at doing it for herself, though.”
“Trixie’s noticed that.” This had to have been good enough to assure Dashie that she might well be receptive when ‘surprised’ with the proposal. She’d even laid it on a little bit thick. Time to provide her an opening. “Right, so, what did you want to talk about?”
“Oh, that was all.” Rainbow Dash obviously lied and spread her wings, moments away from take off. “I just wanted to make sure you had a good time. Cya!”
Curse it! She’s trying to run!
Trixie huffed. “What happened to all that cunning and guile you displayed when you hid Trixie’s own hat from her for a month and she was none the wiser? You are obviously hiding something.”
Rainbow Dash looked over to Fluttershy as though to cede the stage to her.
Fluttershy, of course, was struck with stage fright. Her legs so stiff and eyes so wide she could be mistaken for a particularly cute lamp.
After a tense couple seconds, Rainbow Dash folded her wings with a sigh and turned back toward Trixie.
“So... I noticed you like smooching awesome ponies.” Rainbow Dash gestured to herself without a shred of undeserved humility. Of course, she had every reason to flaunt. Trixie would not settle for anypony less, and Rainbow Dash knew it.
“How observant, Trixie has tried to keep that secret so close to her chest.” She mimed holding a hand of cards and winked. “Course, she’d rather be holding somepony else close instead.”
“You ever think that way about other ponies? Like, I dunno, just a random example…” Rainbow Dash twirled her hoof nonchalantly while she looked around for anypony to point at. Gosh what a wild coincidence that her hoof landed on the only pony around, Fluttershy. “Her?”
Fluttershy squirmed. “U-uhm, D-Dash, that’s a little...”
“Her?” Trixie looked Fluttershy up and down as if only just noticing her adorably awkward display. “Well, who wouldn’t, right?”
Rainbow Dash glanced back at Fluttershy, who had at least thawed a little. It must not have been good enough for her liking, though as Rainbow Dash wrapped a warm wing around Trixie and turned her around such that she obscured her view of Fluttershy.
She was so very close all of a sudden, Trixie could feel Rainbow Dash’s rapid heartbeat. “D-Dashie?”
“Look,” Rainbow Dash whispered. “Do you know Fluttershy likes you?”
“Yes. Erm, Trixie does know.” She replied, faking innocence. "Trixie likes her too. It may be a bit rude, but Trixie is hoping to replace Rarity as her best friend soon."
"No, it's like—wait." Rainbow dropped her wing down a bit and peered over it at Fluttershy. "Rarity's your best friend now? What happened to me?"
“I, uhm, I...” Fluttershy just managed to stutter out before she froze and stayed completely still. Trixie figured she was likely hoping they couldn't see her; she had mentioned some lizards have that issue when hunting prey.
“Ugh.” Rainbow Dash pulled the wing up and blocked her out again. “Whatever. I meant in the ‘like like’ way, you know.”
“Oh!” Trixie feigned surprise. “That’s… flattering, and perfectly normal for Trixie to experience, but you need not worry about any competition, Dashie. You always win, don’t you?”
She could practically see Rainbow Dash fight back a very uncool blush.
“Y-yeah, well... she asked me if it would be possible for her to, ya know, join us… and… Well, I told her she should ask you, but she’s being Fluttershy about it.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes in clear exasperation.
Trixie could relate.
She’d been trying to get Fluttershy to do that very thing for days. It was a frustrating experience. However, Rainbow Dash did not share Trixie’s saint-like patience and had taken matters into her own hoof after an hour.
Again, Trixie could relate, but she was a little jealous that Rainbow Dash got to take the easy way out.
“Mhm, okay. Trixie’s willing to try.” Trixie gave a decisive nod.
“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “Just like that? You don’t have any questions? Like, what I think? Or, or wanna think on it? Or, I dunno, how it would even work?”
Trixie wrapped her hooves around Rainbow Dash’s waist and pulled her into a kiss to keep that motormouth from running through any more perfectly valid questions she didn’t want to deal with at the moment. “Of course, Trixie has questions, but If you were against it, you’d have turned her down already.”
“But what about—”
Another quick kiss. Trixie was really liking this method. Good thing it was dark out, though. They were in the middle of Ponyville after all and Rainbow Dash was only blocking one direction.
“What say we go home and work on these relationship issues together?” Trixie asked, borrowing a few lines from her conversation with Rarity. She briefly gave Rainbow Dash another kiss before leaning to the side to catch Fluttershy’s eyes past the wing.
Fluttershy’s face was bright red.
All that just from a little kiss? Oh, Fluttershy, you’re going to have to endure a bit more than that after tonight.
Besides, The Great and Vengeful Trixie felt the ‘new’ mare in her life deserved some payback for forcing Trixie to endure days of panic when she only put Rainbow Dash through an hour of it.
With a wicked grin, Trixie broke off eye contact and nuzzled under Rainbow Dash’s neck. “We’ll just start by finding some middle ground.” She traced a hoof slowly down Rainbow Dash’s side, circling her cutie mark softly before giving it a light pat.
Dashie’s breath hitched, barely covering the sound Trixie has been expecting from behind them.
“Trixie is certain we’ll figure out the trick to it!”
“Huh, that kinda sounds like… well, okay. Yeah. Yeah! Perfect!” Rainbow Dash puffed up as if she’d just scored a major victory. She folded her wings which brought Fluttershy back into view. “We should tell her then.”
Fluttershy had already fainted.
“Trixie thinks she knows.”