Trixie blushed a bit at the old nickname she had way back, back when the two of them were still studying together in Canterlot.
"Well get to that in a bit" Trixie said, nodding to Spike. The dragon got the hint, walked over to a shelf and opened the top drawer, carefully taking out a somewhat thick book.
Twilight, watching along with Spike's movements, seemed to get very excited at the sight of it.
Trixie waited for Spike to return to the table with the book in claw, carefully lying it on the table. A few words were printed on the cover, and Twilight's eyes lit up on reading them.
Daring Do and the Great Time Heist : Manuscript
"Is this..." Twilight began, but the words didn't want to come out. Flim and Flam read along, and their eyes flew open.
"A. K. Yearling's newest work?" Flim said.
"And a manuscript to boot? This is worth at least..." Flim chimed in.
"Over fifty thousand bits." Twilight finished, in disbelief at what she was seeing. She looked up at Trixie. "But... how?" She asked, the question obvious.
"Well, Daring Do wanted to let her number one fan read it in advance. And I asked if I could lend it to her number two fan, as a favour, if I promised to keep this a complete secret. Well, Trixie keeps her promises, so here we are." She finished, nodding with satisfaction. "I knew you'd appreciate it."
The gears were slowly starting to turn in Twilight's head. "Wait, wait, wait! You mean I can read it? Really?" She asked, disbelief clear in her voice.
"Well, yeah. Isn't that why you're doing this travelling show in the first place? Let ponies see the wonders of magic, sure, but you've always done it to fund your search for new and rare books, right? But, you can only read it, and not tell a single soul of anything you read until it is published publicly. Well, I can trust you with that much, right?" Trixie said, eager to see Twilight's reaction. And she did not disappoint.
"Yes! Yes! Yesyesyesyes!" Twilight shouted, jumping from her chair, and she started to skip around the table, never stopping her yes-chain.
"I, uh, think she's happy with that, Trix." Spike said, not quite expecting this reaction.
"This is a first as well for us." Flim and Flam chimed in. They have seen her happy plenty of times whenever Flim and Flam managed to track down one of the books they had a lead on in the cities the Troupe was staying at, but this is another level of happy entirely.
So they all waited for the jumping pony to calm down, amused at the situation, grabbing a few sweets in the meantime.
A short while later, Twilight began to slow down, audibly panting, before she sat down again.
"I... wow, I honestly don't know what to say. The newest book in the Daring Do series, stars above, and I'm one of the first to read it? Thank you, Trixie, and I mean it. Genuinely, from the bottom of my heart... thank you for this." Twilight said, a big smile on her face.
"Yeah, I knew you'd like it. And Daring said it was her best book to date, so have fun enjoying it." Trixie replied.
Twilight tilted her head a bit. Flim and Flam seemed to have noticed it too.
"Uh, Trixie, not to sound rude, especially after this great of a gift, but... you do know Daring Do isn't like, an actual person right? She's just the main character Yearling uses." Twilight said, smile faltering a bit.
Trixie didn't back down though. Spike looked towards her. "Are you sure we're doing this. I mean, if it was just Twilight, sure, but Flim and Flam are here as well."
Trixie shook her head. "It's fine, Spike, Twilight already vouched for them, I fully trust her. She'll probably enjoy it even more if she knows about it."
That got Twilight's attention. Flim and Flam were leaning forward as well, curious where this was going.
Trixie took a deep breath. "Don't be too surprised by this, Twi, but... Daring Do is a real person. She's A.K. Yearling. Or, well, Yearling is just the pseudonym Daring uses to publish her books."
Twilight was in disbelief. "...okay, now you're just pulling my hoof. I've read all her books, so I know they can't be real. I mean..."
Trixie nodded. "Yeah, I figured that would be your reaction. Just a moment, I'll be back in a while." She said, and charged her horn. Before Twilight could respond, she disappeared in a quick flash.
Stupefied, she looked to Spike.
"Oh, don't worry, she's just going to bring the number one fan to convince you, shouldn't take long" He said, shrugging his arms.
"Huh." Twilight responded. "Wait, where did she go?"
"Rainbow Dash's cloudhouse. It's ten miles to the west, give or take, she likes the open space there."
Twilight's brows shot up. "Ten miles? Huh, she must have improved her magic by leaps when I last saw her, even I can only manage up to seven miles in a single teleport."
Spike nodded. 'Oh, yeah, Trixie's been hard at work practising every day. She constantly goes on and on about 'needing to be stronger', but I'm pretty sure she's one of the top casters in Equestria already, she might have even surpassed you." He said nonchalantly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
Twilight softened a bit at that. "She still feels like she has to measure up, even after all those years? To be the 'Great and Powerful'?"
"Mwah, it's getting better, slowly but surely. She's certainly the greatest student Celestia has ever had, not that she really wants to accept it. Well, yet, anyway. But we'll get there, don't worry." Spike said, grabbing some more sweets to eat from the nearly empty tray.
Before eating them, he gave a warm smile. "And, well, she's the greatest sister anyone could ask for."
Twilight let out a laugh herself. "Well, you'd have to contend that with my BBBFF, but I know what you mean."
Twilight looked to Flim and Flam, who seemed to have gotten uncomfortable at listening in. "No word about any of this to Trixie when she comes back, alright?"
They silently nodded, not knowing what to say.
Suddenly, with another bright flash, two more ponies stood in the large room.
"Dangit Trixie, I said I was going to fly. You know I don't like teleporting around like this." One of them said, sighing, before perking up when she looked to the table.
"Oh, hey Twilight. Saw the big balloon heading for Ponyville, so I figured you were back in... wait, is that Flim and Flam?" Rainbow said, surprised at the two brothers.
"Long story Rainbow, I'll tell it another day. Just know that Twilight's good friends with them, and they made up with the Apples already." Trixie replied.
Rainbow was silent for a moment, before shrugging. "Alright. Now, mind telling me what was so important you had to interrupt my nap time for, even teleporting me to horseshoe?"
"It's on the table." Trixie said, and Rainbow flew over.
"Oh, Daring's new book? What about it?" She asked, unsure what this was about.
Twilight replied instead. "Trixie gave it to me to read it, and I was honestly ecstatic about it. And then I was blind sided by the fact that Yearling is actually Daring, which I couldn't believe, so she went to get you. But the fact that she even went so far as bringing you here to me has more than convinced me already, so..."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, Daring's real, I can vouch for it. So, uh, was that all? If possible, I'd really like to go back to my nap..." Rainbow said, clearly eager to leave. Trixie couldn't help but shake her head, before she nodded.
"Alright, awesome. See you later then, Twilight. Heard you were doing a show here, so us and the girls will probably catch it. Later." She waved goodbye, and flew out the window. Twilight waved back, unsure what to think of the short visit... until she heard a loud bang and saw a rainbow-coloured circle expanding, Rainbow Dash speeding off in a flash.
She froze mid-wave. "That was..." she managed out, but couldn't finish the sentence.
Trixie noticed the hesitation, and looked out the window.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, that's one of her sonic rainbooms. Don't worry, it'll disappear in a short while. Now, as for why I called you... Twilight, is everything alright?" She asked, suddenly worried.
Twilight blinked, and noticed a tear had started to fall out of her right eye. Wiping away at it, she let out a small laugh.
"Ah, haha, don't worry about it. I just... ah, nevermind, it's silly."
"Are you sure? If you need a break, just say the word." Trixie responded, worry deepening. Did she tear up at seeing Rainbow's rainboom? Sure, if it's your first time seeing one, it can be quite overwhelming, but not to this extent.
Twilight was silent for a while, hoof tapping softly on the table, until she spoke up.
"Say, Trixie, do you remember why I signed up for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?" She asked, unsure.
This caught Trixie off guard for a bit. "Eh, what do... Celestia's Summer Sun Celebration, right? You saw her raise the sun, so you wanted to study under her? Until..."
"Until I failed the test, yes." Twilight continued, a sad smile on her face. Trixie did not like seeing that. "I was... inconsolable, after that. For a short while, at least. I was so amazed when she raised that sun, in disbelief at seeing such, how should I say it, brilliance? I studied so, so hard for that test, for a chance to learn from her, this shining pony, and yet... the one time it mattered, I failed. I even managed to take it two days earlier than planned."
Taking a gulp, Trixie softly asked, 'But you picked yourself up, right? You enrolled at Canterlot junior high, met me when we were visiting the library for the same book, and we became fast friends after that. I'm not sure where... oh, wait, is this about that weird rainbow you saw? The one that inspired you to stop worrying about your failed test?" She finished, slowly realizing where this was going.
"Yeah, that one. Two days after I failed that test, I still remember it cleary, I was walking outside with my parents who were trying to cheer me up, still depressed at my failure, until that happened. A giant, bright expanding circle of rainbow colours, lighting up the entire sky."
"Rainbow's first rainboom?" Trixie whispered, more in disbelief to herself than anything.
"Was it her first?" Twilight replied, making Trixie look up. "Well, once I saw that grand ring, I was perhaps even more amazed than when I saw Princes Celestia, and I instinctively knew this wasn't something the Princess could do, and that's when I realized it." She looked up, the tears fully gone now, a smile back on her face.
"Equestria is so much bigger than Princess Celestia... no, this whole world is much, much bigger than that. And perhaps a lot more amazing than that. And I wanted to see it all. And, and, and... well, after all those years. I finally know what started it all so long ago."
Twilight looked down again, and noticed the stares everypony and dragon was giving her, making her blush. "See, it told you it was silly..."
Everyone was silent for a short while, not knowing how to respond to any of this, until Trixie started to chuckle, before breaking out in a full laughter. All eyes turned to her.
Taking a moment to compose herself, she simply said, "Of course it did that. Of course it... haah, ahaha, of course, what else would it have been. Twilight, remember when I wrote you how me and the other girls got their cutiemarks?"
Twilight tilted her head, not sure what Trixie expected here. "You got yours at your own test, when your magic suddenly spiralled out of control? When you hatched Spike, I mean."
"Yeah, yeah, but the date, Twilight! It was two days after you took your test!" Trixie said, waiting for Twilight to realize the truth.
"Two days after I..." Her eyes opened wide. "Wait, no... the rainboom? THAT was when you got it?" Twilight gasped.
And then she laughed too. And Trixie joined her.
Flim, Flam and Spike were just looking at each other in the meantime, unsure what to make of any of this.
Calming down, Twilight spoke up first. "You know, I never really gave it any thought before, but fate might actually be real."
Trixie laughed again, nodding. "Yeah, I understand that. Wow, that was a revelation and a half."
Flim suddenly spoke up, surprising the two mares. "Miss, I hate to bother you, but it's getting quite late, and I don't think we still quite know why we came here in the first place. The crew is probably getting anxious right now, so..."
"Ah, right. So, putting all that aside for a moment, why did you call me here in the first place, Trixie? You wrote about a spell or something?" Twilight asked, recalling the letter she read just a week ago.
But Trixie shook her head. "It can wait, if you're staying in town for a while. Basically, Celestia sent over the last of Starswirl's spellbooks, with an unfinished spell on the very last page, and she asked me to look into it. I collected a lot of potential material on it, but I'm stuck in a sore spot, so I needed some outside help."
"Starswirl?" Twilight eyes lit up. "Ooh, sound interesting. Did you cast it to see what it does? That's probably the first thing I would have done."
Trixie raised her eyebrow. "What, no, of course not. This is Starswirl's potentially final spell we're talking about! Who knows what kind of destruction it might be capable off, so I am not just casting it without proper safeguards. But anyway, like Flim said, it is indeed getting quite late, so can look it over tomorrow, alright?"
Twilight seemed anxious to see some of Starswirl's work, but she relented. "I... alright, tomorrow. We'll be taking our leave then."
And with that, Twilight began to stand up, Flim and Flam following suit. As they walked to the door, Spike bumped Trixie with her tail again. "Aren't you forgetting something?" he whispered.
Oh right, Celestia's letter.
"Ah, Twi, one more thing before you leave." Trixie called out, opening the bottom drawer of the shelf and levitating the letter in it out.
Twilight turned around, curious.
"Here, it's a letter from Princess Celestia, to you." Trixie said, handing the enveloppe with the bright golden seal over.
Taken aback by the sudden mail, from a princess no less, Twilight shakily took the letter, opened the seal and began to read.
Flim and Flam started to sweat once they heard it came from Celestia herself. "Uh, we aren't in any trouble or anything, right? We made sure to right all the wrongs we did under miss Twilight's guidance, so unless we have forgotten something..."
Trixie shook her head, letting Twilight continue to read. "Oh, no, it's nothing like that. You see, a few days ago, a large group of zebra diplomats arrived in Canterlot, and one of the things they eagerly talked about with the princesses was how good your show was, to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's surprise. So, knowing I already invited Twilight over to look into that spell, Princess Celestia send me a letter yesterday, to be delivered to Twilight directly, though I already know what's in it. I think you guys, and the Troupe especially, will be very happy with it."
Just as Trixie finished, so did Twilight reading the letter. She seemed to be frozen in place.
Flim and Flam, realizing what might have been in it, slowly began to dread the next few moments.
"Uh, miss... would you mind telling us what the Princess wrote?" Flim asked, fear in his eyes.
"Miss, are you okay? Did they write that they..." Flam tried to ask, but couldn't finish the sentence, already knowing the answer.
"The-the... the princesses.... want to visit a show?" Twilight managed to stammer out, eventually.
Trixie nodded, glad to see that Twilight seems to be excited about it. Spike doesn't seem to be as sure about it.
Standing next to hear, he stood on his toes and whispered in her ear. "Trix, isn't this going to be a... you know."
Trixie looked at him weirdly, wondering what he meant with... Oh. Oh no. How did she forget about that. Snapping her gaze towards Flim and Flam, she saw that they were trembling as well.
Taking a step forward, she finally managed to look at Twilight, and realised she was muttering things under her breath.
So she took another step forward. And another, and another, until she stood in front of the shivering mare, letter still clutched in her hoofs.
She looks so small, so... vulnerable.
Even if she was one of the most talented unicorns in all of the land, a grand-level caster and successful business-pony, running her own travelling show and all that, Twilight Sparkle still had one fatal flaw.
And I forgot about it. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.
Twilight Sparkle did not handle the possibility of disappointing those around her well, if at all. And if she were to consider disappointing one of the princesses themselves, well...
Trixie took her into a hug again, even stronger than the one they had when Twilight nearly tackled her earlier.
Just let it all out, I'm here, I'll always be here.
And so Trixie endured the infamous 'Twilight freak-out', never letting go, even until the very end.