//------------------------------// // (19) Great and Powerful // Story: Of Dragons and Maternity // by SymphonicSync //------------------------------// The schoolhouse was quiet again. Scootaloo sat at her desk, alone, equal parts looking at the assignment in front of her and staring out the window. This silence would be normal for the classroom, after the exchange of morning pleasantries and ignoring the endless chatter of Snips and Snails, but... It didn't feel the same now. Cheerilee turned the page of the booklet in front of her, the sound a minor pause in the pattern prior. She scrawled some words at the top of the page and returned to scanning the answers, and to her thoughts. The room returned to to its silence. She hadn't stopped to consider how much livelier it had been since Spike joined the summer group. His occasional musings offset the youthful energy of Pipinto and Diamond Tiara's blaring of her own trumpet. Or rather, flourishing her own flute. 'Too refined to play something as podunk as a jazzer's horn' was how the filly had put it. Figuring out the band for this year's play was going to be as much a headache as ever. Cheerilee looked up to see Scootaloo staring out the window. The pegasus had a forlorn look on her face and her quill rested in her desk's inkwell at the same angle that Cheerilee preferred to set them at. As if she could sense the mare's attention, Scootaloo asked in a dejected tone, "Wasn't Rainbow Dash supposed to work today?" Her voice lacked all the exuberance it carried that evening when she rambled on about crashes, clouds, and coolness. Cheerilee frowned at the memory of the filly's excitement in the words 'Rainbow Dash thinks I'm awesome!' She'd always thought that Scootaloo was awesome. The filly kept her eye on the sky outside. What makes kicking vapor and napping in trees so cool? Cheerilee tried to clear her mind and answered, "I don't usually check the weather team schedule. It might still be in the news, if the colts didn't get too far in their paper-mache..." She knew they'd barely started. Three of them just couldn't stop talking and the fourth was too busy trying to catch a perturbed filly's attention. Scootaloo slid out of her chair and walked over to the boys' workstation, if the loosely organized pile of papers and glue could be called such a thing. She drove into the task of sifting through the scraps. A minute later, she looked up with an unfolded page of the local times in hoof. Scootaloo flipped it around to check the back and inquired, "What section would it be in?" Cheerilee tried to put herself in the horseshoes of the editor and guessed, "Missaleaineuss?" The filly grabbed a separate paper in front of her and gleamed over it. A brief moment after seeing the headline on paper she groaned, "That's not how you spell that!" "I'd tell you to write them about it but I don't think they can read Ponish." Cheerilee grinned as the pegasus started giggling. It was a merry sound in these weary walls. She stood from her chair and walked across the room to peer over Scootaloo's shoulder. They read through the contents and saw, halfway down the page, the full schedule of the weather team. Scootaloo's withers sagged with her disappointment on seeing Dash's name on the line for the day's date. "I'm sure she's just taking one of her breaks." As the teacher spoke, Cheerilee saw a notice further down the column of a letter mailed into the press. 'Entertainer's Caravan Bound For Town This Weekend.' It was Saturday now, maybe that was the fuss she had heard earlier? She reached past the filly and tapped the blurb. "Wanna go check it out?" "I still have to finish my reading guide..." Scootaloo looked back at the untouched work on her desk. Cheerilee shrugged, "It's not due today, right?" Scootaloo perked up at the prospect. "Can we?" Her eyes sparkled, and even if Cheerilee hadn't been the one to suggest it, she would have had to say yes in response to the sight. "Come on then," she bid with a nod towards the door, "it'll be fun!" Twilight pushed through the crowd of assorted ponies in an attempt to reach a more advantageous spot to view the show. She thought back to just a few minutes prior when she had been reading a book on magical theory and enjoying a warm cup of tea in the library. At home, she corrected herself. It was home now. The thud of the front door being thrown open had disturbed that moment of peace and startled the mare. A filly's voice squealed through the atrium, "THERE'S A SHOWPONY ROLLIN' IN!" Twilight could smell the waft of chamomile from what little she'd spilled on herself while trying to put her book down. She'd barely caught a glimpse of Sweetie's tail while the filly left as quickly as they'd arrived. Somepony bumped into her and she felt a claw poke her withers. Spike swayed on her back, where he stood to watch for Sweetie Belle. Twilight halted her shuffle to let him find his balance first. A half dozen "Howdy Twi!" and "What's up, Spike?" immediately greeted them. She couldn't even begin trying to place any of the ponies around her. She turned to each of them, one after the other, and churned out as many "Hello"s. It felt as awkward as it no doubt looked. A proper greeting at any diplomatic function would have included their titles. Spike looked at a taller stallion next to her and responded, "Pretty good, Mr. Cake. Do you know when the show starts?" "No clue, kiddo!" Mr. Cake smiled back before inquiring, "Were you hoping for anytime in particular?" As the drake shook his head, Twilight saw a mare in a matching apron lean past the lanky stallion. "Why doncha head up front, dearies," she, presumably Mrs. Cake, said, "should be a good show up there!" Twilight groaned, "We'll see if we can make it up there." Mr. Cake hollered, "Let'em sneak on by, y'all!" The crowd parted before the pair. Twilight looked on in awe as the Cakes shooed her forward. Spike's heel poked her again as he spun around and yelled back "Thank you!" "Just don' overuse it!" Mrs. Cake replied. She felt his claws clench into her mane as he face forward again. It was not until after she winced that she saw the reason why. At the front of the audience, visible at the end of the isle, was Sweetie Belle. "Are you sure," Spike pleaded, that she invited us?" "Yes, Spike, I'm sure," she affirmed, "she was quite vocal about it." "She just said the caravan was coming into town." "After barging in the front door, and at the top of her lungs?" His grip lightened, "I guess you're right." "Even if I wasn't, it's a public show." She walked further through the crowd, unabated by the packed mass that it had been before. A glance over her shoulder showed the ponies quickly closing in behind her. They continued to mutter greetings as she went by. She flashed a sheepish smile and continued on her way. Spike leaned down and she heard his scales clack off of a hoof bump. A small white and brown fool disappeared into the sea of ponies. "Who was that?" Twilight asked. "Pipsqueak," Spike answered, "he's been at the schoolhouse a few times." "Oh. A friend of yours?" She felt him shrug. "Friendly." Friendly was a start. As they approached the front row, Sweetie noticed them out of the corner of her eye. The filly smiled, raised a hoof and waved at the pair. Spiked waved back and, as Twilight was getting ready to greet the filly, she saw Sweetie's older sister Rarity standing by her side. Her urge to say hello was suppressed by the recollection of Sweetie's voice repeating "Dolts and fools"... She said nothing as she took a spot next to Sweetie. Today was an Apple Family Outing sorta day. Granny Smith had that off-beat rhythm to her snoring durin' the pre-morning call, so Applejack and her siblings knew she'd be under the Mare'n'the'Moon's watch ‘til half past dusk. Their grandmare needed the rest every few weeks and, other than Apple Bloom complaining about the extra chores most of the morning, none of them paid any mind to rushing through their responsibilities to spend the added free time on whatever suited their fancies. They each had their own little rituals for the occasion; Apple Bloom would run off into Ponyville to find Twist, Big Mac would spirit himself away into his acres to the east, and Applejack… She'd hate to admit it, but her guilty pleasure was to brew up some extra-strength double shot espresso, take it up to her room, and curl up on her bed to laugh at those ponies in her stash of Vanity Mare magazines hidden under her nightstand. The frilly outfits, the outlandish poses, all of the all-too serious expressions plastered on their faces, it was almost as if that Photo Finish gal wanted to models to look ridiculous and nearly make Applejack wake Granny Smith with her mad cackling. However, there'd be no such shenanigans today. Apple Bloom had seen some magician's caravan rolling down the road towards Ponyville and gone on beggin' her and Big Mac to take the filly into town to see what was what ‘fore either of them could be off to their own ventures. There weren’t no reason to decline, and it was nearly her birthday, so here they were; walking down the path from the Acreage, Apple Bloom standing on Mac's back with her hooves balanced on his yoke and Applejack running over a mental checklist of any groceries they might need while they were around the market. “Ye' think they're an earth pony or a pegasus?” Her little sister perked up over Mac's head, fielding the question to either of her siblings. Their brother responded with a hearty, “Ee’nope.” “Now why woulda pony other than a unicorn bother-round with putting on a show like that?” Applejack added. “I dunno,” Apple Bloom said, “it'd be cooler. Make ye think ‘bout how they're doin' all that magic stuff without spells.” Big Mac shook his head, slowly, so as to not topple the filly over, and mused “It wouldn’t be magic without spells.” “Yeah it would!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “It'd just be one uh'dem illusion sorta magics.” Out of sight of her sister's ire, Applejack rolled her eyes in reaction to the ridiculous assertion and smiled as the trio approached the final cluster of trees before the village would come into full view. Her normal schedule for trips into town a'fore long days selling apples and apple accessories in the market would have the mare round this bend just in time to watch the town bask in the first rays of morning sunlight. On the stroll today, at quarter-til brunch, the sun was well up into the sky above and the town rested on the valley floor with a dull sort of normal glow. Up above the town square she saw a streak of rainbow shades dash about the open air collecting stray scraps of cloud. ’Well eh'll be, that’s a first,’ Applejack thought, ’must be enough folk gathered ‘round fer that laze-about to do her job.’ As the blur slowed, a blob of blue cane to a stop atop the newly formed cloud couch. It laid halfway falling off the edge, no doubt staring at the crowd beneath as a few smaller clouds floated past the mare. ’Shoulda expected that… To conclude the thought, Applejack hummed a resonate ‘Mhmm’. The act was all to loud, it seemed, as Apple Bloom flipped around to face her elder sister while she leaned against their brother's neck. “Eh'm just sayin', they had a big ‘ole hat on and I didn’t see no horn,” the filly continued ranting, “and they had a cape, too, coulda been hiding some wings under there.” Big Mac prodded at the filly's theory, “Yet they couldn’t hide a horn under a hat?” “’course not, how'd they cast their spells?” The stallion belted out a rolling chuckle. Apple Bloom was forced to slide back onto his withers and wrap a hoof over his yoke to keep from falling off. “What?!” The bewildered filly blurted out. “’Bloom, dahl…” Applejack said as she started to reminisce over her own days as a filly, “unicorns can still use magic with their horns covered.” The number of evenings she's spent at the swimming hole with her friends, tryin' to prank one-another with towels or the odd ‘accidental' burial in the beach only to be met with magically charged plumes of sand to the rump… She still had a scar by her cutie mark from a rather ornery crab caught up in one of Acryllic's blasts. He'd of course not been able to see it on account of the soggy hay cake she'd plastered on top of his head just prior. Nothing the two of them couldn't look back on and laugh about now. “Ah, well,” Apple Bloom huffed, “I ain't got one so eh wouldn't know.” The rest of their stroll into Ponyville proceeded in relative quiet as Apple Bloom brooded over her temporary embarrassment and her siblings chuckled about it every minute or so. As the trio neared the edge of the town, Applejack saw a small pegasus streak out from behind Minuette's house on a scooter. In a blink of an eye, they were across the street and vanished behind Noteworthy's place. She'd seen that blue helmet just about every day the past few months whenever she was in town on errands as it went scooting along every which way around. She'd seen the filly squeezed into it far longer than that. Never could quite catch her name. “Slow down!” A familiar voice beckoned from around the corner. “I still have to walk, you know!” The town's teacher cantered out onto the street in front of the three as the filly circled back around to join the group. “Hey Miss Cheerilee,” Apple Bloom greeted the mare, “whatcha up to?” She hopped down onto the trodden dirt and shuffled in front of Big Mac. Cheerilee stopped and put a hoof to her side as she caught her breath. She knodded and greeted each of them in turn before answering, “Good day Applejack, Big Mac, Apple Bloom. I was just on my way to a show with-“ “Yer off tah see the wizard? That's where we're headin'!” Applejack spoke up after her sister butted in, “Don' go bein' rude now, Apple Bloom, let the lass finish.” “It's alright,” Cheerilee dismissed the reprimand, “they're both excited.” She smiled at Apple Bloom, held up a hoof at the pegasus and asked “Have you two met?” The fillies shook their heads in unison as her sister stated, “Eh don' reckon we ‘ave. I’m Apple Bloom.” Cheerilee's companion was about to say something when a gust of wind distracted the group. It was accompanied by a new voice saying, “How could you have not met Scootaloo, she's like, the best.” It took no time at all for the Cheerilee and the Apple siblings to recognize Ponyville's laggard braggart. Scootaloo's registry of her arrival took a few seconds more but came with an excited gasp. “Sup, dude.” Dash extended one of her legs for a hoof bump, then commented, “Y'all should hurry up, I just saw the mare light up some fireworks and dip into her wagon. Might miss the start of the action.” Scootaloo flapped her wings for a short hop and clacked one of her hooves against Dash’s. Applejack could hear her sister whisper to Big Mac, “Now why woulda unicorn need somethin' like fireworks?” “I’ll be right there,” Scootaloo declared, pushing through a nervous crack in her voice, “I just have to let Miss Cheerilee keep up with me!” The filly rolled her scooter back and forth a few times for emphasis. Rainbow Dash flared out her wings, crouched into a take-off stance and offered to Scootaloo, “How about we leave these slow pokes and just bolt on over? No speed like a pegasus in clear skies!” ”Dash-" Cheerilee tried to interject. Scootaloo hung her head and looked at the ground, awkwardly swaying on her hooves as she tried to confess, “I, I can't…” Hovering above the ground in front of her was the tip of Rainbow's wing. “I’ll give you a lift. There's a spot waiting on a cloud back, if you want it.” The filly turned to Miss Cheerilee, who scanned over Dash and shared a furtive glance with Applejack and Big Mac. By the look in her eye, Applejack could assume the mare had been put on some sorta spot… “Go on ahead, Scootaloo,” the teacher said, “I’ll catch up later. There’s some errands I have to run anyway.” Scootaloo beamed back at her, the prior melancholy faded. “Thanks Miss Cheerilee, I’ll see you there!” In a flash, the winged pair were gone. The filly's scooter slowly teetered and fell into Cheerilee's grasp. Applejack could see the hints of a frown hiding behind her eyes even as a smile sat on her lips. Well, couldn’t just leave her there all alone. “Let's get along then, Miss. That Dash is a mite impatient.” Seemed ‘armless enough. Didn’t call no attention to what might be making things awkward between the lot of ‘em, hopefully. “Actually, I better be off…” Cheerilee digressed as she held up the scooter, “seems like I have to run this back by the home now, I guess.” Apple Bloom pleaded, “Are ye sure, we'd love fer ye to join us!” Big Mac caught Applejack's attention with a gesture towards the square, patted his younger sister on the back, and walked over to Cheerilee's side as he bid, “We'll be along soon enough, sis, just head on over with AJ. It's been a while since I took a walk across town and I'm fixing to join Miss Cheerilee on her’s.” “Alright then,” Apple Bloom agreed, “don' miss too much now.” Satisfied, the filly galloped away down the street. Applejack took a few steps after her before she looked back. Cheerilee and Big Mac had been classmates back before she transferred up to Central Canterlot High, he would know the best hoof on which to approach whatever was bugging the mare… “Have a good day, Cheerilee. See ye later, Mac.” Her brother answered with a kurt, “Ee'yup.” Cheerilee gave her a short wave Goodbye, and Applejack ran off after Apple Bloom. Rarity might not have noticed the arrival of the librarian and her ward without the incessant whispering of the aggregated audience. The only clue the two of them gave was the crunch of Spike's claws as he slid off Miss Sparkle's back. She, however, offered no greeting. Oh well, Rarity determined, it was rather early in the morning and perhaps the mare wasn’t quite up for chit-chat yet. Canterlot was not a morning city, to her knowledge, unexpected as that may be for Princess Celestia's township. The life of the city was far more centered around afternoon dinner parties and evenings at the exquisite shopping centers. It’d hardly been more than a week, now, since Twilight had arrived. She may not yet be acclimated to the up-with-the-dawn nature of Ponyville. Rarity could certainly respect the delaying g of pleasantries. Sweetie, it seemed, could not. “Spike, you made it!” her sister chimed as the drake stood next to her. Without skipping a beat, she leaned past him and addressed the newly present mare, “Hey Twilight!” “Hello again, Sweetie.” Twilight answered the filly with a smile before glancing up at Rarity. They had hardly made eye contact before she turned her head away to look at the caravan, her lips turned down to a neutral expression. Before Rarity had the opportunity to question the interaction, her focus was stolen by a flash of lights and a flurry of cracks as a round of fireworks erupted from the wagon. ”Come one, come all,” a loud voice sounded from in front of the crowd as their attention was brought forth, ”come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” An entire side wall of the wagon unlatched and swung down to slam into the ground. On impact it expanded to form a stage a theatrical smoke billowed out from inside. It swept over the poured, poured over the edge, and rolled along the ground towards the crowd. Sweetie giggled and hopped on her hooves in a vain attempt to dodge the gas. As the showmare cantered into the daylight, the sight of her outfit soured Rarity's demeanor. It was little more than an old foal's blanket slung over her back, clasped in the front with an under-faceted emerald-cut cubic zirconia masquerading as a true diamond. A beast which mocked a hat was in the midst of an attempt to swallow the mare's head. This Trixie's voice sure seemed loud and obnoxious but it was nowhere near the volume and vitriol of the showmare's ensemble. The yellow accents, haphazardly hoof-stitched at random locations on the garment, clashed with the colors of the fabric and the unicorn's own coat. It was too pale and lacked the reddish hue that may have complimented the lavender tone of her irises. Rarity might have stayed ambivalent, as she had been after Sweetie dragged her out to the town square to stare at a heap of plywood, but this affront to fashion was irredeemable. She was moved to speak and found herself leaning into Twilight's earshot to gripe, "My, my, what boasting!" The librarian turned to her and softly asked over the heads of their young companions, "There's nothing wrong with being talented, is there?" Talent was not boisterous. It should be reserved, considerate, honed and practiced. The attribute resided in solemn studios, not streetside stunts. "Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic," Rarity asserted with a sour note on her tongue, "does not make one better than the rest of us." Twilight frowned. Her eyes bore the gleam of confusion and, having spent plenty of time around Cheerilee to recognise the sight of it, disappointment. Rarity was taken aback by the reaction. She hadn't meant it as a slight, not one against Twilight. "Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" Both mares looked to see the unicorn on stage rise up on her haunches, brush her cape back and unleash a swirl of sparks that sizzled about her shoulders. The crowd gawked as she spun around, the stars sewn into her cape shining with the reflection of the spell as the cloth swayed with the motion. It was... spectacular. The execution was crude but the effect was creative and captivating. Spike leaned back and asked of Twilight, quiet enough that Rarity almost didn't hear him, "You know that one, right?" Sweetie watched the act in delight, unphased by the question of how it was performed. Twilight placed a hoof on the drake's back and nodded as she gently faced him forward again. Her eyes passed over Sweetie, pausing to witness the filly's apparent engagement and enthusiasm, before she locked eyes with Rarity once more. "Let them enjoy the show." Her tone was flat, and she looked away. Her sister bumped into her and tilted their head back to mime a quick apology. For a moment, Rarity saw the grin pressing into Sweetie's cheeks before her mane blocked it from sight. It bobbed to the side as she made some comment to Spike and laughed. He giggled as well as Rarity glanced up at Twilight. The mare had stepped forward away from the trio and sat down just in front of Spike, paying no mind to anything else she might have to say. What on earth had she done?