The gossip session had only just started, but the empty soda bottle was already deeply uncomfortable. It perched on top of the cart, unmoving.
“You didn’t hear?” The housekeeper grinned at the room attendant. “There was a huge argument! Half a dozen ponies complained about it. They’d have gotten kicked out if Fluttershy hadn’t done such a good job apologizing.”
“Blue Blazer isn’t going to kick out Elements of Harmony,” the room attendant said dismissively. “He probably expected this! Everyone knows they’re all sleeping with each other.”
The concierge gasped. “What?! No they aren’t. Really?”
“Obviously! It’s basically an open secret that Starlight Glimmer is Princess Twilight’s secret lovechild. The only question is who the mother is!”
“Wait… what? How does…”
“Um, magic, obviously!” the housekeeper waved his hoof chidingly. “Come on. This mysteeeerious unicorn shows up completely out of nowhere and is ‘Princess Twilight’s student?’ And she just lives in the castle now?”
“...Huh. Yeah, that does make a lot of sense.” The concierge shrugged. “So the others…”
“Well, the glasses one is obviously Discord in disguise, because everypony knows he’s dating Fluttershy. Because I heard she cheated with him when she was dating… um. What’s her name, the one I always forget. Applejack.”
The soda bottle fell over onto its side.
The room attendant gasped. “No! Fluttershy? Do you think that’s what the fight was about?”
“No way, the fight was about Rainbow Dash, of course. They’re all secretly in love with her.”
The bottle slowly began to roll. It reached the edge of the cart and fell; luckily, the floor was carpeted, so there was very little sound when it landed. It gradually inched its way down the hall.
“No, I heard they’re all in love with Pinkie Pie, so they had to make a bunch of Pinkie clones so everyone could have one. There’s six different Pinkies, because Starlight wanted one, too.”
“Wowww. Can you believe they’re all teachers, too? At the School of Friendship! If I was their student and I knew all this, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else.”
“I know, right?? I’d just be continuously thinking about their grotesquely incestuous personal lives, whether I wanted to or not.”
“Exactly! Rainbow Dash is trying to teach me about being loyal, or whatever, and all I’d be able to think is, ‘You made out with both Starlight Glimmer and Princess Celestia at the same time.’”
The soda bottle finally, finally made it around the corner, into the hallway’s alcove. It swiftly transformed into a changeling who immediately opened up the nearby ice machine and shoved her own head into it. She kept it there until the mental images went away.
She pulled her head out and shook off the ice cubes stuck to her head fin. Her determination had not wavered. No matter how many personal details she learned about her old, apparently extremely adventurous teachers, no matter how much trouble she got into, she would understand herself.
Smolder deserved that. Smolder deserved a real answer.
Determined but feeling very, very tired, she left the alcove and made her way to the elevators.
“Ugggh, Staaarrrliiiiight.” Trixie rolled her eyes but didn’t let it in any way interrupt the placement of her mascara. “Stop. I told you, it doesn’t matter what Rarity said. We had a fight, she was mean, whatever. The important thing is, I won.”
“I just need to know if I should be mad at her or not,” Starlight protested. “I hurt her feelings earlier, and…” She recoiled as Trixie’s hoof suddenly appeared in her face, pressing down on her muzzle.
“Shush shush shush,” Trixie cooed, somehow still applying her make-up like a champ. “Rarity is having a stupid little stupid Rarity crisis. She is not worth worrying about right now. ...Except, as I said before, to be proud of me because I demolished her in our argument.”
Starlight held her glare for a moment before levitating Trixie’s hoof off of her mouth. “You know, there’s entire curricula at the school about how thinking about arguments in terms of ‘winning’ is…”
“Something only winners do, yes yes yes, I know,” Trixie interrupted. “Look, I’ve learned a very important lesson about never trusting anypony ever again, but other than that, I already know any of the friendship stuff there is to know!”
“That… doesn’t sound like a very good lesson.”
“Staaaarliiiiiiiiiiight!” Trixie whined. “Remember what we agreed? We’re only going to make bad decisions, tonight!”
“Yeah, I absolutely did not agree with…”
“Bad decisions!!” Trixie enthused. “I am the best at making bad decisions, so you’re going to have to work hard to keep up with me!” She very suddenly somehow had a bottle of whiskey, which she chugged. Then, she pertly dropped her makeup onto the table and winked at her own reflection in the mirror. “Bad decisions!”
She strode to the door and threw it open, trotting out vainly. Starlight followed her out, much more slowly.
“Oh! Uh, hi!” Starlight looked up to see Fluttershy and Moon Dancer stepping out of their own room. Fluttershy was waving, her hesitant smile only halfway making Starlight guilty again about ruining brunch.
“Hi, squares!” Trixie sang blithely. “I’m surprised you two old ladies aren’t in bed, yet.”
Moon Dancer pulled out a pocketwatch and glanced at it. She rolled her eyes. “It’s not even late. Are you two going out again?”
“Naturally.” Trixie posed, probably imagining the spotlight so intently she could actually see it. “We wouldn’t deny the Manehattan night life our glamorous presence.”
“Um, it’s just, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Fluttershy ventured. “After everything that happened today, maybe it’d be nice to, um, take it easy?”
“Hmf!” Trixie had her eyes closed, so she wasn’t looking at anything, but she somehow mostly wasn’t looking at the door to Rarity’s room. “I, for one, am not the kind of pony to let drama keep me from enjoying myself! Besides, I already helped Starlight last night. It’s her turn to wingmare me!”
“Yeah, this one’s just for Trixie,” Starlight assured them. “But don’t worry. I feel a lot better after my nap.”
Fluttershy did not look convinced. Moon Dancer checked the time again.
“Are you… late for something?” Starlight asked.
“What? No.” Moon Dancer shoved the watch back into her pocket. “What?”
“Since when do you even carry a watch?”
“I bought it to help you!” Moon Dancer griped. “I might as well use it, right?”
“I’ve never met anypony who cares less about what time it is than you,” Starlight said. “I’ve seen you make yourself a midnight snack at three in the afternoon.”
“Well, maybe I have something planned tonight!” Moon Dancer snapped. She paused, glancing over at Fluttershy, who was just smiling patiently. “I mean…”
“We were going to go check on Ocellus,” Fluttershy explained. “We thought she might want to talk through her issue with Smolder.”
“Guh, right,” Starlight replied, shaking her head in disappointment. “I’m so disappointed in her. They should both know not to get into situations like that with friends. I’m glad you’re going to talk some sense into her.”
“...Well, I hope we can help her to feel better,” Fluttershy said after just a hint of an awkward pause.
“Yeah yeah yeah,” Trixie breezed, “you go be, ugh, ‘responsible.’ We’re gonna go make bad decisions! Wish us luck!”
“You aren’t somepony who needs luck for that,” Moon Dancer remarked.
“I hope you meant that as a compliment!” Trixie bellowed. “And if you didn’t, then the joke’s on you! I’m taking it as one anyway!”
Fluttershy frowned anxiously. “Please be safe.”
“We will,” Starlight assured her, trying to ignore the fact that Trixie was impatiently tugging her leg towards the direction of the elevator.
“We will not,” Trixie insisted, tugging even harder.
“Ugg, Trixie!” Starlight let herself get yanked away; it was worth it to be able to roll her eyes so the others could see. “Bye, we’ll see you tomorrow morning!”
“Nope!” Trixie insisted. “Probably gonna be dead before then!” She kicked over a nearby trash can. “Bad decissssiiiiooons!!! I’m gonna headbutt a cop and make out with a diamond dog!”
“Trixie, no.” Starlight knew her objection wouldn’t do any good, but she made sure to voice it before being pulled around the corner away from the others. At least they would know somepony was being the voice of reason.
Granny Smith took a moment to remind herself to move slowly before she stepped up to the bouncer. “Yep?!” she snapped, ornery and impatient.
“Err.” The bouncer blinked at her. Granny Smith had heard about “being carded,” to verify age, and she knew that to avoid it, it only made sense to be very old. But she really did stand out among the rest of the clubgoers. “Do, uh, you have…”
“A bad hip?!” she snapped. “I sure do! Is it acting up? It sure is! Making paying customers stand out on the sidewalk like a bunch of polecats. You oughta be ashamed!”
The bouncer frowned. “I…”
“Listen here, sonny boy!” Granny Smith leaned in, poking him in the chest. “I hurt this hip fightin’ for Equestria in the Boar War, back when you were just a twinkle in yer grandpappy’s onion garden! I ain’t fit to stand out here in the cold one second longer!”
He blinked at her, baffled. She idly realized that she recognized him: it was that security guard outside the pride committee’s tent, the one who knew Pinkie Pie. “It’s… this is a nightclub. Are you sure you’re in the right place?”
“Of course I’m in the right place!” Granny Smith seethed. “Are you saying I don’t know where I’m going? Well, I’m madder than a box full of turnips! Why, back home in Ponyville, I’m a pillar of the community! They’d never treat me like this!”
“Yeah, come on, man,” the unicorn behind Granny Smith grunted. “She’s a war hero.”
The bouncer scratched his head helplessly. As she’d suspected, mentioning Ponyville had an effect; he associated it with Pinkie Pie, who was benevolent and sincere. He finally frowned and said, “I apologize,” waving Granny Smith through. She stomped past him, then remembered to favor her bad hip and started to stomp more gingerly.
Once inside, her plan was to pause and take a deep breath to recover from how draining that sort of confrontation was. But she was not prepared for the crowd.
She had never encountered anything like this, much less been right in the middle of it. It sounded like someone set a panic attack to music, it smelled like vinegar and sweat, and it felt like a bunch of ponies jostling her because she had been in here for five seconds and already about a million ponies had jostled her.
She realized she had been mindlessly walking forward, propelled by the throng, and she numbly caught sight of an open area, filled with ponies (and a couple of other creatures, but mostly ponies) dancing. She thought. Maybe. Or dying.
There was even more touching happening over there, but it was different from the hurried nudge of someone trying to squeeze past in a crowd. This, despite the jerking speed, was slow and prolonged and smooth. Those ponies over on the dance floor were… rubbing each other.
She hated it. It was fascinating.
She pulled her eyes away and found a burst of energy she used to find a bathroom. Very luckily, there was an open stall, and she darted inside, finally, dizzily, with a moment to herself. Besides everything else, there was an overwhelming amount of overly rich foods in this building, and she had to effortfully keep from eating anything, or she might get sick.
A few moments later, a light orange earth pony emerged from the stall and walked up to the sink, eying herself in the mirror. This was a form she’d used before when exploring Ponyville, pleasant but nondescript, designed to not be someone anyone would particularly want to strike up a conversation with.
A new, unfamiliar feeling ticked the back of her head, and she focused on it long enough to know it was dangerous. It was the sense that having a stranger, one of these older, bizarre, frenetic creatures, strike up a conversation with her here in this place might actually not be so bad.
She very quickly pushed that thought as far down into her mind as it would go.
But before she could get rid of it, it had its effect. She looked back into the mirror; she was just a little more attractive and noticeable and interesting to look at.
This was bad. She had to keep control, keep organized. She was here to learn.
She stepped out into the club, suppressing a shiver, and let herself get lost in the crowd.
Moon Dancer reminded herself she had plenty of time. She thought this might stop her from checking her watch, but it did not.
Fluttershy was being very polite about the whole thing, just glancing around the elevator instead of remarking on Moon Dancer’s behavior, but she had to know something was up. And she wasn’t an idiot, so she had to know it was her engagement surprise. But she couldn’t know what the surprise was: how perfect, how elaborate. That would have to suffice.
“I hope Ocellus is fine,” Fluttershy said, leaning up against her fiancee softly. “I’d wanted to talk to her more, but it’s been hard to find time. Pinkie’s been really wonderful, taking care of her all weekend.”
Moon Dancer nodded, sliding the watch back in her pocket and almost relaxing. “It’ll be a relief to hang out with them after all the drama.”
She hadn’t meant that to be a pointed comment, but Fluttersy pulled back very slightly. “Are you still very angry with Rarity?”
“I am.” Fluttershy looked surprised at her blunt answer, so she clarified, “Trixie doesn’t have many friends; I feel like I have to stand with her.”
Fluttershy said nothing for a moment, frowning thoughtfully. “Rarity really does feel terrible about the things she said. I think she’s even more confused than I am, about why she’d act like that.”
“Mmm.” The elevator doors opened, which gave Moon Dancer an excuse to offer such a lame reply. She knew it wouldn’t suffice, though, so as they stepped out onto the second floor hallway, she nodded. “Yeah, okay. If you say so, I believe you.”
“It’s all just… I’m not even sure what to think.” Fluttershy sighed. “All I know is, when she said she wanted to be alone this afternoon, she looked sad in a… quiet kind of way. Not like herself at all.”
She stopped walking, frowning at the ugly hallway carpet. Moon Dancer stopped too, looking back and raising an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”
“Y...yes. I just feel kind of helpless.” Fluttershy squinted in thought, then shook her head, yes, helplessly. “I think she really doesn’t want to talk about what’s been going on. But she always wants to talk about her problems. Even when she insists she doesn’t. Um. Through a locked door, while sobbing. She knows it helps. But now… I think she really won’t.”
Moon Dancer nuzzled her fiancee softly. “Look. Rarity’s my friend. I promise. But she really messed up. She probably just needs space to get her head on straight. You can talk to her back in Ponyville.” She put her hoof against Fluttershy’s cheek, eliciting a welcome, soft smile. “C’mon, you know what’ll help your helplessness? Helping Ocellus.”
Fluttershy blinked. “...Yes?”
Moon Dancer smirked. “Yes; help Ocellus with Ocellus’s mess.”
“Oh.” Fluttershy nodded. “It’ll. Um. Spell the end, um, of my helplessness? To help Ocellus be well?”
“Selfishly, I’m jealous you can address and quell your helpless distress by helping Ocellus.”
Fluttershy laughed, loudly for her but still intimate. “Tell me the truth. It drives you crazy that your human self started a rap group and you didn’t.”
“Welllllll.” She kissed Fluttershy gently. They gazed at one another, warm and calm.
It turned out, they were pretty close to Pinkie’s suite, so it wasn’t long before they were outside the door. Moon Dancer had to mentally prepare herself; this was a jarring shift she was about to experience.
Moon Dancer liked Pinkie. She really did. Pinkie had wonderful pony-reading skills, and she had a purely benign heart. But like grief, there were stages to dealing with her.
She raised her hoof to knock, but before she even touched the wood, the door flew open. Pinkie stood there, eyes taking up the entirety of the top half of her face, panting furiously.
The first Pinkie Stage was always surprise. Always. Bewilderment usually followed quickly, but that was easier to deal with.
“Aha!” Pinkie screeched, pointing with a trembly hoof. “I get it! You went and found Moon Dancer to play a prank on me! Of course! It’s just a prank!”
She hopped up and down, then grabbed Fluttershy by the withers and shook her back and forth. “I knew you wouldn’t run away! I knew it was just a prank!”
Fluttershy darted back, cowering slightly.
“Ah ha ha ha ha!” Pinkie screamed. “But you can’t prank a prankstress! You didn’t get every detail right. Fluttershy has brown eyes! Nice try!”
Fluttershy’s dropped her haunches to the floor in overwhelmed confusion. “Pinkie, what are you…?”
“Pinkie.” Moon Dancer stepped forward, glaring. “Slow down. And please don’t shake Fluttershy.”
“It’s not really her!” Pinkie insisted. “I’ll prove it! Quick, ask a question only the fake Fluttershy would know the answer to!”
“Pinkie.”
“...Do… you really think I have brown eyes…?”
“Pinkie.” Moon Dancer’s bewilderment had worn off, and she noted she was skipping the ‘delight’ stage and heading straight into ‘annoyed.’ “Stop. What are you saying?”
“You’re a good student!” Pinkie asserted plaintively. “You wouldn’t just disappear and run off into the largest city in the world, alone, in the middle of the night!”
Moon Dancer and Fluttershy glanced at one another anxiously. “Hold on, are you saying Ocellus…”
“She didn’t eat her ice cream!” Pinkie wailed. “I went in to turn the lights off and her ice cream was on the floor, just melting like the forgotten dreams of an innocent child! So… so I went into her bedroom and she wasn’t there! Even though she said she’d be there all niiiiight! And if she’s not either of you, then… then…” Apparently remembering she could not shake Fluttershy but absolutely needing to shake someone, Pinkie grabbed Moon Dancer by the shoulders and flung her back and forth. “Aaaaaagh!”
Moon Dancer was so disoriented, she didn’t even notice her glasses falling off her face before Pinkie gasped loudly, dived down onto the carpet, and poked at them hopefully. “Ocellus? Is that…” She gave up, covering her eyes with her hooves. “It’s just glasses! It’s not herrrrrrrr!”
A blurry, yellow smudge hesitantly walked to the pink smudge. “Pinkie, um, can we go in your room to figure this out?”
“Okay, but she’s not under the couch!” Pinkie yelled. “Wait! Or maybe!!” A whooshing sound indicated she had rushed away, and Moon Dancer found herself slightly relieved this Ocellus thing was happening, if only because it would keep her from plunging into the rare seventh stage of being around Pinkie: ferocious, apoplectic wrath.
Moon Dancer gratefully accepted her glasses from Fluttershy, and they went inside the suite. She wasn’t even surprised to see furniture, clothes, and luggage strewn around, entirely at random.
The couch in the center of the room vibrated. “She’s not under the couuuuuuch!” Pinkie’s voice wailed from underneath it.
Frowning, Fluttershy walked over and lay down, reaching a hoof toward her friend. “Pinkie? Could you help us understand what happened? Did Ocellus sneak out?”
“Noooo,” Pinkie replied, miserable. “I mean, she’s not here! I searched absolutely everywhere.”
“I can’t understand why…” Fluttershy sat, forlorn confusion on her face. “...I thought she understood how important it was to be safe. Would this situation with Smolder make her do something like this?”
“Maybe?” Pinkie barked. “But I can’t believe she would just sneak off! It’s not like we repeatedly rewarded her and her friends for breaking the rules as long as they had some kind of friendship-related justification for it! Right???”
Fluttershy glanced nervously at Moon Dancer, then cleared her throat. “Um. I don’t know how we could find her alone. Didn’t Sunburst give us a magic device to use in case of emergency?”
“But…” Pinkie stuck her head out from under the couch, eyes frantic. “But that’ll call Sunburst and Twilight and Thorax! I don’t want to bother Twilight and everyone! It’s all my fault!”
“Pinkie… please, let’s not worry about anything like that, okay? Let’s just try to find her for now.”
Pinkie looked like she wanted to argue, then she very slightly relaxed. “...Okay. Let’s go get that pyramid thingie, and…”
“Forget it,” Moon Dancer snapped.
The others turned to her, mouths hanging open. She’d been silent for a while, letting the anger build to a delicious froth. “...What? But…”
“Don’t even bother,” Moon Dancer spat bitterly. “It’s pointless. Just forget about it.”
Fluttershy stood up, eyebrow slightly creased. “We need to find Ocellus. Why is it pointless to use the pyramid?”
Moon Dancer glowered at the floor, fighting the urge to just yell out every swear word she knew. “Because…” She sighed. This was it. “...because Twilight and Sunburst are here. In Manehattan. Right now.”
“Wait, what? Why…”
“They were helping set up your surprise!” Moon Dancer sat down, grimacing. “It was very intricately planned. Lots of magic. It was going to happen in…” She raised the pocketwatch, glanced at it, and tossed it over her shoulder. “...eighty-three minutes. But I guess that’s ruined, now.”
Fluttershy took a step forward, frowning. ”...Honey…”
“It’s okay.” Moon Dancer shook her head. “Actually, no, it isn’t. I’m furious. But you were right; all that matters now is making sure she’s safe.” She stood and walked stiffly to the door, head swimming. “I have to head back upstairs to get in touch with them. I’ll tell them to meet us here.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Okay.”
Moon Dancer stopped, sighed, and turned around. “Um. I don’t really trust myself to be great with ponies right now? But while I’m gone, could you tell Pinkie, in a nicer way, that this really isn’t her fault, so she should stop freaking out like a lunatic?”
Fluttershy blinked. She glanced over at Pinkie, then back to Moon Dancer. “Y...yes. A much nicer version, yes. I was already planning to.”
“Thank you. And that she shouldn’t worry, because this is exactly the kind of problem magic can help with.”
“Uh.” Fluttershy once again looked back and forth between the other two ponies in the room. “I can do that.”
Pinkie’s eyes were overflowing with tears. “Fluttershyyyy!” she wailed. “Please tell Moon Dancer that I super appreciate what she’s doing, and even if she says it’s not my fault I’m really really disappointed she can’t have the big engagement moment like she was planning!”
“You. You both are right here together in the same room. You could just…”
“Fluuttterrshhyyyyyyyyy!” Pinkie moaned. “Tell herrrrrr! But do it all gentle and kind like you do!”
“Yeah,” Moon Dancer agreed. “You’re good at stuff like this.”
Fluttershy sighed.
“Well, not just any diamond dog, obviously,” Trixie clarified. “A super hot one.”
“Trixie, no.” Starlight spoke quietly, but it wasn’t as if everyone near them on the sidewalk wasn’t completely aware of what they were talking about. “We teach the exact opposite of this! Don’t exoticize…”
“I wonder if I make her really turned on, she’ll howl.” Trixie turned to the pony behind them in line and poked them in the shoulder. “Hey. Do diamond dogs howl when they…”
Starlight forcefully clamped Trixie’s mouth closed and grinned anxiously at the pony, who actually didn’t even look surprised after standing in earshot of Trixie for the past ten minutes. Starlight pulled Trixie around to look at her, but paused when she saw the look in her friend’s eyes.
She sighed, releasing Trixie, whose smirk only widened. “You’re trying to embarrass me on purpose.”
“If a fight breaks out, that’ll be a bonus, too. Because then the cops will come, and I’m gonna headbutt a—”
“Trixie!!”
The pony behind them audibly sighed.
“I’m kidding, Starlight,” Trixie simpered when released again from the telekinetic gag. “It’s not a diamond dog thing, I promise. I’d feel like a failure if I didn’t make anyone howl, no matter what kind of creature they were.” Her expression and voice went cold very suddenly. “I made Rarity howl a kazillion times.”
Starlight didn’t respond. They stepped forward as another group ahead of them got admitted into the club.
Trixie frowned. “What? Are you gonna be awkward about that?”
“No!” Starlight gasped. “What! It’s fine! It’s fine. I already knew! I’ve known for two weeks.” She shook her head angrily. “I mean yeah, I think you could have been smarter than trying to do something like that with a friend. But it’s your life.”
“Uhhhh, I’m not the only one in that boat,” Trixie remarked. “Or did you already somehow forget again?”
“Gggghh and that’s the other thing!” Starlight grumbled, talking another step forward as the line moved again. “It is very very very weird that the two of us have. You know.” She lowered her voice and leaned forward. “The same pony.”
“Hmff,” Trixie snorted. “See, this is exactly the reason you needed this weekend to get more experience. We need to actually be able to talk about this stuff! If you don’t tell your friends who your exes are, they won’t know who’s off-limits.”
“She’s not my… gaah!” Starlight squeezed her eyes tight in a vain attempt to give herself a distracting headache.
She couldn’t explain why this was upsetting; she knew it wasn’t rational. Yeah, Trixie had mentioned making Rarity ‘howl,’ and yeah, Starlight pretty much knew exactly the noise Trixie was talking about. But that didn’t mean anything! There wasn’t some kind of transitive property here that meant Starlight had somehow accidentally done the worst thing she could possibly do.
“Beep beep,” the pony behind them grumbled. Starlight jolted, and she looked up to notice they were holding up the line. They quickly trotted forward; they were almost at the door, now. Almost time to start their last wild night out.
She wanted to go home. These new memories were really messing with her head.
“Whatever, Starlight,” Trixie said breezily. “You’re gorgeous. Rarity’s gorgeous. I’m indescribable with mere words but ‘gorgeous’ is close enough. Stuff like this happens, don’t worry about it.”
Starlight blinked. “You think I’m gorgeous?”
“Um, you think I’d let you on stage with me if you weren’t? Give me some credit.”
“Yeah, but.” Starlight trailed off, then at Trixie’s raised eyebrow, she tried to explain. “Sorry, it just feels weird to hear you say it.”
Would she ever call Trixie gorgeous? It wasn’t like she didn’t know Trixie was beautiful (she in fact was not allowed to ever forget it). But saying it would feel the same as sitting around just thinking it, and that was not a thing to be doing.
“I literally introduce you as ‘my gorgeous assistant’ sometimes.”
“I know! I mean…” Starlight frowned. All she knew was this gorgeous thing was weird and this Rarity thing was weird and really all she wanted was to lie back down with Trixie in her hotel bed and feel warm and fall asleep again, because that was the only thing she’d done all weekend that didn’t make her feel like she’d broken some huge, important rule. “You’re my best friend. That’s all.”
Trixie opened her mouth to respond, then stopped, mouth open. She closed her mouth, face blank. She didn’t say anything. Starlight felt like she should fill the pause, but no words came to mind. The expression on Trixie’s face was just odd.
They took another step closer; they were almost to the door.
These new memories were messing her up, and she probably should have just refused to even go out, tonight.
But as suddenly as a lightning bolt, Trixie’s face shifted to a grin. “Well. Just as long as you don’t forget your best friend duties tonight: keep track of how many blue cocktails I drink, and don’t let me try to teleport after four. Because I absolutely will.”
“Oh, believe me,” Starlight replied, affectionately despite herself, “I know.” She felt herself relax, just a little.
“Oh, hey, Starlight Glimmer!” a voice called out. Starlight looked up; they had arrived at the entrance to the club at last, and the stallion standing next to the door looked familiar.
“Oh!” she greeted, smiling. “You were at the tent the other day, right? Pinkie’s friend!”
“That’s me. Bottleneck.” The bouncer nodded to her. “Sorry about the wait; we’re slammed tonight.”
“Oh, it hasn’t been too bad.” She levitated over her ID for him to read, glancing to her side. “Oh, this is my friend Trixie.”
“Hey, great to meet you.”
“Sure, sure, sure.” Trixie held out her own ID impatiently. “Tell me something. How blue are the cocktails here?”
Bottleneck squinted, nonplussed. “How… blue?” Trixie did not clarify, so he shrugged. “I never seen bluer ones.”
Bottleneck heard something through his earpiece, and he nodded to them. “Hey, and we’re ready. Have fun.” Starlight barely had time to smile back in response and take his offered fetlockband before Trixie physically dragged her inside.