Pinkie Pie, as most of you will be aware, is not made of rubber. However, you would not have been able to tell this from the way she bounced down the street with her shopping bags.
It almost defied gravity; there was no way a pony's hooves could be that elastic. And whatever she was carrying in her bags must surely fly out whenever she went back down. And surely no pony could avoid anything with their eyes closed-
Yeah, she just ran into Twilight.
"Oh sorry, Twiight!" cried Pinkie, although it was hard to hear since she was currently stuck underneath the purple unicorn.
"Ahhh! Be careful! Those are important alchemical ingredients! They're extremely dangerous!" Twilight shouted, before noticing where Pinkie was. "Oh- um, sorry."
The ponies gradually picked themselves up and grabbed their various bags, when an angry voice called. "Fear not, fair Twilight! You have been led astray, but the Grrreat and Powerful Trrrrixie is here for you!"
"Oh no," Twilight whispered.
A blue unicorn who Pinkie hadn't seen for a season and a half came galloping up. "Back, hussy," she screeched, pointing a hoof at Pinkie. "Do not touch one hair of this beautiful mare's mane!"
She grabbed Twilight's hoof and heped her to her feet. "I'm watching you," she added, narrowing her eyes at Pinkie.
Twilight mouthed "I'm so sorry," to Pinkie.
Pinkie was merely confused. "Hey Trixie! What are you doing back in Ponyville?"
"As if you didn't already know!" said Trixie. "The Grrrreat and Powerful Trrrrixie has returned to this village to seek the fair hand of this beautiful, intelligent mare. She is perhaps the only pony in all of Equestria worthy to be the girlfriend of Trixie. Twilight also knew this, for she has asked Trixie to accompany her to the gala."
The next thing either of the unicorns knew, the air was thick with streamers and confetti. Pinkie had whipped out her party cannon.
Twilight blinked the confetti out of her eyes and sensed approaching disaster. She hastily shoved her hoof onto Pinkie's mouth, just managing to stop a musical number.
"Mo?" asked Pinkie.
"No," affirmed Twilight.
"Get your hooves off of her!" cried Trixie, shoving Pinkie backwards and spilling both Twilight and Pinkie's bags again. All three went flying, and ended up sprawled onto the ground.
Twilight rubbed her head and took a deep breath. Then another one. And a third one, just to be safe.
"Hey, didn't Twilight have her hooves on me?" asked Pinkie.
"You say that," hissed Trixie, "but we both know that you were trying to steal her away from me!"
Before things could go any further, Twilight called out, "Uh, Trixie, I think one of my bags went flying all the way back there. Could you get it for me?"
Trixie's eyes gleamed. "But, of course, Twilight!" Then, jsut as she was about to leave, she paused. "But I don't trust this one alone with you."
Twilight couldn't hold back a sigh. "I promise I won't let anything . . . untoward happen while you're gone."
This seemed good enough for Trixie, who trotted away.
"You really think a bag went back that far?" asked Pinkie.
"No, I just needed some time without her around," said Twilight.
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Pinkie. "I was gonna congratulate you for finding another date! I knew my speed-dating service would work for you!"
Twilight grinned ruefully. "It hasn't exactly been easy, being with her."
Pinkie furrowed her brow. "She did seem kinda-"
"Possessive? Extremely so."
"Why do you wanna go out with her, then?" asked Pinkie, puzzled.
"Because there's nopony else in Equestria who'd want to go with me!" said Twilight. "This is my last shot, and I can't risk disappointing Princess Celestia. It's only a few more days, then it's over."
Pinkie shook her head. "That's dumb, Twilight. You should be with somepony who you like, not somepony you have to be with!"
Twilight just sighed..
Then Trixie jump-kicked Pinkie in the face.
Another plot-relevant short chapter. Note: I don't if you've been keeping track of the days, but I'm just gonna say that it's somewhere between one and three days before the gala.
Also, a Chekov's Gun was loaded in this chapter. Do you know what it is?