//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Guardian Angel // by Absentialucci //------------------------------// “Trixie has to ask, did you really pull a nightmare night prank on the entirety of Ponyville?” “Heck yeah I did! Though, I suppose I should give credit where credit is due. Princess Luna helped, as did Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Though it was mostly me.” Rainbow Dash laughed as she responded. “It was great! Everypony ran off screaming and wouldn’t come out until I got Twilight to address them all!” “Oh, Trixie must hear all the details!” Trixie propped her head up with her hooves as she stared eagerly at Rainbow Dash. “Okay, okay! If you really want to, I suppose I could recall the tale. It’s a pretty awesome one, if I do say so myself!” Trixie nodded. “It’s one of the greatest pranks I’ve ever pulled! Only rivalled by one other!” Trixie felt herself leaning forward, wanting to hear more. “In fact, it very well might be the greatest prank in EQUESTRIA!” “Just tell me already!” Trixie snapped, nearly toppling over in the process. Rainbow Dash studied her for a moment, then grinned. “I was getting there! Anxious, are we?” She teased. Trixie couldn’t help but groan. This is a nightmare… well, based on how she’s hyping up her story, I sincerely hope it’s a good one. “Okay. It all started on a boring Nightmare Night. It was the first year Princess Luna hadn’t visited in a while. She had grown quite fond of Ponyville… Anyways, I was gloomily looking for some ponies to scare with a basic raincloud prank, when I saw Scootaloo slip into the Everfree Forest.” “Who’s Scootaloo?” Trixie asked, genuinely curious. Rainbow Dash sighed frustratedly. Trixie immediately felt bad. She was interrupting the flow of the story. She shrunk closer to the ground when Rainbow Dash turned to glare at her. “Scoots is kiiiiiinda my adopted sister. Nopony knows who her parents are, she doesn’t talk about them. But she’s not in the orphanage, and she’s not on the streets, that’s for sure. Somepony is paying for her school, food and bathing… we just don’t know who. Uh… Sweetie Belle is Rarity’s younger sister, and Applebloom is Applejack’s sister. Since I figured you’d ask about them too! Now, quiet. I’m recalling an awesome tale here!” “Trixie is sorry. She just wanted some context is all!” Rainbow Dash glared at her, before cracking a grin. “Heh ha! Gotcha.” Trixie immediately rose to her hooves, and shot a withering glare in Rainbow Dash’s direction. “You… impudent little… Reprobate! Trixie… can’t tell if she should be impressed or insulted…” “Mebbe a little bit of both?” Rainbow asked with a grin. Trixie scoffed. “Hardly!” “So then.” Rainbow’s voice lowered. “Which one is it? I’m dying to know.” Trixie felt herself go pale. “N-neither!” Stupid, you stuttered. She’s going to use that against you at some point. She covered up her internal embarrassment by raising her chin, and giving Rainbow a disdainful look. “Trixie doesn't have to explain herself to the likes of you. Besides. You have a story to tell, you wouldn’t want to pull Trixie’s attention away from your… hmmmm… what was it?” She lifted a hoof to her chin in supposed thought. “Oh yes! Your… awesomeness.” Rainbow Dash scowled. “Don’t think I’ll forget this…” She threatened, but Trixie could see laughter in her eyes. Trixie exhaled, she really didn’t want to hurt Rainbow’s feelings. “A-HEM! As I was saying, I saw Scootaloo slip into the Everfree Forest. This wasn’t unnecessarily unusual, but it also didn’t happen often enough for me to ignore it. I assumed she would be with the other two, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Those three are inseparable. Anyways, as I flew over to follow Scoots, to make sure she was safe, I saw that she, of course, was meeting up with the other two. They call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. A pretty awesome name, in all honesty. There was no danger in the immediate area, so I just continued to follow them. Who was I to deny them an awesome adventure?” Trixie was enraptured, but if it was by the story or Rainbow herself, she wasn’t sure. Where had that come from? Now that I think about it though… I quite enjoy her company. And while I also enjoy my chats with Cadence, something about Rainbow is… alluring. She’s talking to me. “Uh… wha-what?” Rainbow was looking at her sternly. “Where are you at, la la land? C’mon, you looked like your head was in the clouds! Pay attention, or you’ll miss the story!” “I’m listening. I’m listening, I swear! Please continue!” “You’re doing that thing again.” Rainbow suddenly said pointedly. Trixie blinked, confused. “What’re you talking about?” “You weren’t speaking in the third pony form.” Trixie hadn’t even noticed. “I wasn’t?” “You still aren’t.” Trixie stared silently at Rainbow, mouth working silently. “Soooooooo… what’s up? Is there something wrong?” Rainbow asked, a concerned look on her face. “Trixie-- I don’t think so. I hadn’t even noticed.” She definitely noticed now. And it just… felt right. It was a lot easier to talk to Rainbow in the first pony form. Trixie put her thoughts to words. “Now that you’ve drawn attention to it, I actually think it’s easier for me to talk to you like a regular pony. It’s like… well, it’s as if I don’t have to act around you.” “And… you felt like you had to before?” Rainbow asked. “Yes, I didn’t know you as well before. I didn’t know how magnanimous you were.” “Magma-whatsit now?” Trixie chuckled lightly. “Magnanimous. It’s… well, you seem to be very forgiving of me. And, though I’ll deny ever having said this, but… you’re better than me. Most of you are.” She said, talking about Rainbow’s group of friends. Trixie lazily picked up her drink and Rainbow’s, levitating them in mirrored patterns of each other. Rainbow, who was looking on, shocked at Trixie, then turned her attention to the mirrored glasses of water. “You’ve been very generous, all things considered.” Trixie continued. “You have no obligation to visit me, yet you do anyways, once a week at a minimum, sometimes more.” The cups, as one, tipped over, spilling their contents. But Trixie caught the liquid in her magical aura. “And… Well, I just don’t understand it. Saving my life, I can understand that. But checking up on me? Talking with me? I don’t get it.” The water flowed, still mirroring each other, Trixie wasn’t really paying attention to it though. “I’m not saying that I don’t appreciate us talking together, by Elysium, I love talking with you. But I guess what I’m trying to say… is why?” Rainbow, who had been staring, transfixed, at Trixie’s display, jumped and looked at Trixie. The water flowed back into their respective cups, and the two cups settled neatly upon the ground. Rainbow had Trixie’s undivided attention. “Why what?” Rainbow asked, almost nervously. “Why do you talk with me so much, Rainbow?” Rainbow was silent for an eternity of a few seconds. Trixie kept her gaze locked on her, waiting for her answer. “I just… like talking with you, Trix. Is that really all that hard to believe?” The air felt thick between Trixie and Rainbow, though Trixie wasn’t sure why. But the atmosphere seemed palpable. Like it could be cut by a knife. “You’re… just fun to talk to. I don’t know, it just feels nice okay?” Rainbow started speaking faster. “I’m not very good with these emotions things. IwishIhadananswerbutIjustdon’t!” The tension snapped, as Trixie burst out laughing. Rainbow looked on, confused, before a smile grew on her face, and then she too started chuckling. Before too long, both the ponies were laughing in revelry, no care in the world. But eventually, all good things must come to an end. Trixie wiped tears out of her eyes as she calmed down. This felt… good. Right. I like hearing her laugh. She has a nice laugh. Rainbow was also calming down. “Did I happen to fluster the world-famous element of loyalty Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash in a conversation? This is truly an occasion worthy of the history books! For I, the Great, and Powerful, Trrrrrixie have achieved greatness!” “Whoah whoah whoah! Hold on a second there, lets not forget that I, Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash managed to make the great, and powerful, Trixie to speak in the first pony form. That is in itself worthy of history.” “Nay!” Trixie shot back. “My achievement is greater than yours!” Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “Is that a challenge, Trix?” Trixie matched Rainbow’s expression. “Maybe it is. What is it that you intend to do about it, Rainbow?” “You. Me. When you’re out of here. We’re meeting up. And then we’ll see who has the greater achievement.” Trixie grinned. “You’re on!” Somewhere behind Rainbow, a warning chirp came from one of the technomagical speakers in the detention area. Trixie stared at it, disbelievingly. Where did all the time go? “Looks like visiting hours are about over.” Rainbow said. And Trixie excitedly thought she heard regret apparent in her new friend’s voice. “I suppose so.” Trixie said softly. “I’ll uh… catch you later?” Rainbow Dash hovered by the exit, seemingly not wanting to leave. “Yes, I look forward to it!” Trixie called out. “Yeah… yeah! Of course!” Rainbow continued, some of her usual bravado back. “Heh ha. Of course you look forward to it. Why wouldn’t you? Anypony would be honored and excited to see me!” Oh you have no idea.  Trixie thought to herself. She had a suspicion as to why she was feeling the way she felt, but chose not to explore it. Not yet… But Trixie conveyed none of this. She simply smiled, and rolled her eyes. While she did so, Rainbow disappeared through the door. Always so dramatic about how she leaves. Trixie thought, exasperated. She pointedly ignored the giddy feeling she felt when she thought about Rainbow Dash and her alluring drama. Magenta eyes… very pretty. She also keeps herself very fit. Trixie’s thoughts started wandering. Her toned muscles, rainbow mane, cyan coat... she’s beautiful. Then her thoughts wandered in an entirely different direction, but she slammed a mental wall on those thoughts as soon as they came up. Behave, Trixie. Instead she focussed on getting to sleep. There was nothing else to really do. As Trixie closed her eyes, she didn’t notice the door to the detention level quietly shut. A blue magical aura surrounding it. Princess Cadence smiled as she turned away from the entrance to the detention level. She had thought she’d detected a spark of something here. The pair she saw was not who she expected initially, but thinking about it, it made sense. The two were built for each other. My talk with Trixie can wait. She looks like she needs some sleep. Tomorrow though… I might just have to tease her. Cadence smiled, and gracefully made her way back to her sleeping quarters. I think things are going to start to get better for her. *** Trixie cracked her eyes open, seeing the glass of water obediently placed in its usual spot. She sighed. Same old same old… I’m not sure how much longer I have, I lost track of time… The door to her room opened with a magical blue glow. Trixie’s mood lifted slightly. It’s always good to see Cadence. Wonder what she wants to talk about now? “Cadence!” Trixie called out cheerfully. “How are you today? A bit earlier than usual, aren’t you?” A smiling Cadence seemed to glide into the room. How she moves like she does is beyond me. I bet she makes the stallions crazy. “Good morning, Trixie. I have some great news!” Trixie shook the remaining fogginess out of her head, then considering the cup of water in front of her, promptly upended it over her. She swiped her mane, and grinned crookedly at Cadence’s pleasantly confused look. “What? Sometimes Trixie requires a little extra to wake up, and since there’s no coffee… this has to do.” Cadence just shook her head, never dropping her smile. I’m surprised her face isn’t stuck like that, the amount of time I see her smiling. “Now! What kind of news do you have for Trixie today?” Trixie wasn’t sure why, but she was suddenly in an unbelievably good mood this morning. Must’ve had some pleasant dreams, not that I remember them. “You’re set to be released in just a week now! I did some talking, pulled a few strings, and everypony’s agreed that you have served your time!” Trixie’s jaw dropped.She was… going to be free? She… hadn’t expected to be let out for at least half a decade… and, despite the days blurring together, she was fairly certain it hadn’t even been half a year yet. Cadence continued. “Especially with some of the information I just brought up! You’ll be let out with some public service, but other than that, nothing else!” “What… what information did you bring up about Trixie?” Trixie asked. “Those notes I always constantly take? They were the primary source.” If there were no bars between them, Trixie would’ve thrown herself at Cadence and hugged her for eternity. She might’ve even shed some tears. “Thank you…” Trixie said softly. “This means... you have no idea how much this means to Trixie!” Cadence tilted her head. “Whatever for?” “For just… for being here! Besides Rainbow, you’re the only one who visits Trixie. And now you’re telling Trixie that she’s going to be free with nothing more than a slap on the fetlocks? That’s… It’s...” Trixie felt her eyes burning. She didn’t bother holding back, tears leaked out of her eyes as she just stared happily at Cadence and her warm smile. “I’m happy to help a friend, Trixie.” Cadence murmured, offering her hoof through the bars. Trixie didn’t realize it, but she was pressed against the bars, still openly weeping. Cadence’s hoof lifted Trixie’s head so Trixie was looking at Cadence’s kind eyes. “There is one other thing though.” Cadence continued. Her hoof retreated back through the bars, and she smiled slyly at Trixie. “There’s somepony special to you, isn’t there?” Trixie tried, and failed to hold back a gasp. “Wha-- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Trixie mumbled, tearing her gaze away from Cadence. “Don’t be coy Trixie, come on! Tell!” Trixie mumbled something under her breath. “What was that?” Trixie mumbled again. “I can’t hear you!” Cadence called in a singsong voice. “Okay fine! I’ve been thinking a lot about Rainbow okay? There. Are you happy?” Cadence let out a very unladylike squeal, and started prancing on her front hooves. Trixie stared, mouth agape. She’d never seen Cadence act this way before. After a moment, Cadence regained control of her composure. “Oh, I just knew it! You have to tell me everything!” “There really isn’t much to tell… Trixie finds Rainbow… alluring and attractive.” “Oh, lies! Lies and slander!” Cadence stuck her tongue out at Trixie. “There’s more to it than that!” Trixie was still utterly confused. “Uh… Cadence… you feeling okay?” Trixie asked. That seemed to cause Cadence to pause. “Yes, I’m fine, why do you ask?” “It’s just… that…” Trixie gestured helplessly at the suddenly giddy princess who had been nothing but cool and collected beforehoof. “Oh, Trixie, I just adore romance! It’s so exciting!” Trixie just nodded dumbly. “You won’t… you won’t tell anycreature, will you?” Trixie asked, tentatively. “Don’t worry Trixie, your secret’s safe with me. But I thiiiiiink that somepony should tell somepony!” Her voice was singing again. Trixie groaned. “Trixie will never hear the end of it until she tells, will she?” Cadence just shook her head. “Fine! Trixie will tell! Just… not yet. Trixie wants to get to know Rainbow better first.” Cadence nodded in understanding, even though in her head a million little versions of her were flying around, hearts in their eyes. “They’re going to get married, they’re going to get married!” She chuckled internally. She couldn’t help herself. “I understand, Trixie. Anyways! That’s all I wanted to talk about! What about you? Something else on your mind?” Trixie, grateful for the change in conversation, happily chatted away with her friend long into the day. This isn’t so bad. Why didn’t I try this earlier?