~~~~Twilight~~~~
Applejack was sitting up in bed when I arrived. She had a bandage wrapped around her head instead of her trademark hat, but she didn’t seem to be in too bad of shape. Her family was crowded around her, and Rainbow Dash was nervously flitting about the room. Everypony kept looking at the injured mare as if she were on her death bed. Well, everypony but Granny Smith, who seemed to have fallen asleep in a chair in the corner.
“How many times do ah need ta say that ah’m fine?” AJ looked more annoyed than hurt.
“You don’t know that! Who knows what kind of side effects that weirdo spell will have on you?” Dash emphasized her words with dramatic, yet nonsensical, hoof-gestures. “That little psycho could have killed you!”
“Fer the last time, she ain't a psycho.” AJ rolled her eyes, then noticed me walking in. “Twilight, use yer fancy mumbo-jumbo to tell these guys that ah’m all right!”
If she was able to be that sassy, I was pretty sure she would be just fine. On the other hoof, Rainbow had a point; since Trixie’s spell was unknown, it could have some strange after-effects. “I’m sure you're just fine, but I’ll take a look just to make sure.”
“Yeah, Twilight knows everything; she’ll know fer sure.” Apple Bloom beamed.
“Eeyup.” Big McIntosh nodded.
“All right, fine. Twilight, set her straight.” Rainbow had finally landed. She watched as I began looking for any lingering spell effects.
“Did Trix follow ya over here?” AJ inquired as I analyzed her. “I was a might worried when she up and vanished like that.”
“Ran away, you mean.” Rainbow Dash apparently wasn’t a Trixie-fan yet. “She's just a great and powerful coward.”
AJ shot her a look. “Ah told ya to knock that off. The filly tried her darnedest out there. Sure, ah got a bump on my head, but she saved my life!”
Rainbow just crossed her front legs and grumbled.
“She didn’t come with me. She's too nervous to face you after what happened.” I finished Applejack's magical check-up. “You seem fine to me; just take it easy for a bit.”
“Too nervous to what now? Why the hay should she be?” AJ got out of bed and put her hat back on. She began walking to the door.
“Because she tried to kill you! Helllooo?!” Dash moved to intercept her. “Where do you think you’re going? Twilight said to take it easy!”
“So quit rilin’ me up, then! Ah’m gonna make sure that Trix ain't beatin’ herself up over this. Ah already hurt her feelin’s once, and she shouldn’t be fussin’ over me. Ah owe her fer savin’ me.”
I finally stepped in. “All right, everypony calm down. I’ll take AJ to see Trixie; that way she won’t overexert herself. I doubt that I could pry Trixie out of her carriage tonight anyway. Is that all right with everypony?”
“No, no , it isn’t,” our polychromatic pegasus added.
“Fine, then. Is that all right with everypony besides Rainbow Dash?” It wasn’t even that late and I was already feeling tired.
A chorus of ‘yes’ and a single ‘eeyup’ filled the room. AJ smiled at her siblings, then walked outside. I was about to follow when Rainbow pulled me aside.
“How can you all just up and believe that little liar so quickly? What if she’s setting us all up for some crazy revenge scheme?”
“There's just something about her that I know I can trust. Trixie really opened up to me and…I feel like I can understand what she’s going through. I…used to not have friends either. While I didn’t realize that I was lonely at the time, finding you all was the best thing that ever happened to me. Trixie was all alone, and she’s been hurt so much. I just want to save her the way you guys saved me.”
“Augh, fine.” She shook her colorful head. “Do you know how sappy you sound right now?”
“Probably very sappy.” I laughed. “She’s my friend, Rainbow, and I care about her.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She rolled her eyes, but she did smile a bit as she stepped aside to let me pass.
I met up with Applejack outside. She cocked her head inquiringly, but my only reply was a smile. We slowly made our way back to my place. AJ wanted to hurry, but I tried to keep her restricted to a more moderate pace until she was fully healed. The sun was just beginning to set as we arrived. Trixie had said that she was going to bed early, but I hoped she was still awake. I knocked several times on her trailer, but there was no answer. I cautiously opened the door.
There was nopony inside. Trixie was gone.
~~~~Trixie~~~~
After Twilight had gone, I sat alone in my dark trailer. Sleep wouldn’t come; I couldn’t quiet my thoughts enough. I just didn’t know what to do. Leave. This is not the place for you. There was no place for me anywhere; there was no point in leaving. I just wanted to disappear. I had run out of tears.
Disappear? That isn’t hard at all. I didn’t want to leave Twilight, though; she…she was all I had. Forget her. Disappearing is better for you; better for her. All you have to do is…
I heard a sound at the door; it was so faint that I scarcely thought anything of it. I was about to drift back into my thoughts when it came again, louder this time. It was still so soft that nopony could have actually called it a ‘knock,’ but I cautiously approached my door anyway. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but I certainly wasn’t expecting what I saw.
“Um, sorry, I didn’t disturb you, did I?” Fluttershy stood sheepishly at the door.
I didn’t know what to say to her. Even if I did, my voice probably would have sent her running again. I simply shook my head. I didn’t really want to be seen by anypony right now, but after how I treated her (horribly) before, I couldn’t send her away. Why not? Save her from the likes of you. I walked back inside, but left the door open so she could follow…if she really wanted to.
“Miss Great and Powerful? Um…are you all right?” Her voice came from behind me; she had entered my little home.
As I turned to respond, I caught sight of myself in a mirror. My eyes were red, my mane disheveled, my tail a disaster; I was a mess. No point in hiding it, for the one of the first times I intended to be honest about my feelings. I wasn’t okay.
“I’m just fine.”
I don’t know why that slipped out. Maybe I’d been lying for so long that now I couldn’t stop? Why couldn’t I do anything right? I hated me so much, no wonder everypony did, too. Send her away. You still need to disappear, remember? Get rid of her.
“Well, um, no offense, Miss Great and Powerful, but, um, you don’t look very, um fine,” she said, then tensed up as if she expected me to yell at her.
“I said I was…um, actually, I am really not okay right now. I just want to be alone.” I didn’t want to get upset with her; she was reaching out to me. It made me feel a touch better, even if I wasn’t worth reaching out to.
“I, well, I just came by because I wanted to apologize for the other day. It was rather rude of me to run off like that when you were just trying to be nice.” She gave a tentative smile. “I’m sorry.”
You are the one who should be sorry, not her. You… I shook my head; I was having problems thinking straight. I had really wanted her as a friend; why was I trying to push her away? I took a deep breath. “You don’t need to apologize. I’m the one who should be sorry for scaring you. Twilight told me to take it easy, but I’m not really that good of a listener.”
“Don’t worry about it, Miss Great and Powerful; everything scares me,” she said with a tiny little laugh.
“What’s with the ‘Miss Great and Powerful’ stuff; I haven’t been either lately. Just call me Trixie.”
“I’m sorry, I, um, I thought that was your name.” She blushed. “Some ponies have, um, interesting names.”
I gave an awkward chuckle, before a silence fell. A few moments passed without either of us saying anything. She kept looking me up and down, and I still wasn’t sure how to interact with her without sending her running. Finally, she spoke up.
“Would you like to go somewhere with me? It, um, it might make you feel better.” She shifted on her hooves. “…If you want to.”
You wanted to be alone, remember? I didn’t really mean that. What if you hurt her too? I…I wouldn’t let that happen; Twilight had said to not give up. “I guess so.”
“I have the perfect idea; I think you’ll really like it.” Suddenly, she seemed to find the ability to talk. “It’s just what you need and it will make you feel so much better!”
"Uh, great, um…sounds good?”
“Would you mind if Rarity came along? She always is up for something like this.” She took me by the hoof and practically dragged me outside.
“Sure, why not?” I had no idea who ‘Rarity’ was, although the name sounded a bit familiar. Fluttershy seemed so excited that I couldn’t say ‘no’; I didn’t want to make another foolish mistake with her.
After a short walk, I found myself standing outside of the ‘Carousel Boutique’. A bad feeling immediately crept over me. This was a rather fancy place…that reminded me of a certain fancy unicorn that I'd embarrassed during my first visit to town. This was not good.
"Actually Fluttershy, I don’t think that Miss Rarity will be all that happy to see me…”
“Oh, I’m sure whatever happened between you two is water under the bridge by now,” she said as she knocked softly on the door. I wished I had brought my Great and Powerful hat; I could have used it to hide my face.
The door opened and a white unicorn mare with a purple mane and orange glasses stepped out. “Fluttershy dear, you simply must learn to knock a bit louder. It is very difficult to hear you from across the shop.”
“I suppose you’re right, sorry. At least you can tell when I’m the one knocking.” Fluttershy smiled brightly.
“Assuming I actually can hear you, you mean. What brings you here this evening?”
“I was thinking about doing a little something to help my friend Trixie feel better, and I thought it would be more fun with you along too.” Fluttershy didn’t realize that she was setting up a disaster. “Um, you remember Trixie, right?”
I gave a hesitant wave.
“Yes. I seem to recall her.” Rarity’s voice fell flat.
I quickly chimed in with an apology; the last thing I needed was another pony yelling at me. “Hey, miss,uh, Rarity. It’s nice to see you…again? Sorry about the…um, the green hair thing. That was…pretty out of line. Heh heh.”
“Come now, I had simply forgotten all about that.” Her sharp tone strongly hinted otherwise.
"See? I told you that she would have forgiven you by now.” Fluttershy seemed oblivious. “I was thinking that we needed to call an emergency spa day. I think Trixie would really like it; she seems like she’s been very stressed lately.”
“A spa? Look, that isn’t really my kind of thing. I’m really not in the mood for…” I started, but Rarity cut me off.
“As fun as that sounds I think…” She paused as she regarded me for a few more moments, squinting her eyes as she considered what she was about to say. “Actually, Trixie darling, look at the state of your mane. No matter what has transpired between us, I cannot simply allow you to parade around like that. I must insist that you accompany us immediately.”
I’m not sure how it happened, but the next thing I knew, I was practically being carried off to whatever spa they frequented. I didn’t really resist, but I wasn’t sure how this was supposed to make me feel better. At least I seemed to be gaining Fluttershy as a friend.
After being pushed through the doors into the building, both of my captors called out in unison, “Three ‘usuals’, please!”
~~~~Twilight~~~~
I must admit; I may have panicked a little when I saw that Trixie was gone. After finding the trailer empty, I probably looked rather silly as I circled it a few times trying to think of where she could have gone.
“Oh no, I knew I shouldn’t have left her alone!”
“Twilight.” AJ tried to gain my attention.
“What if she ran off somewhere? I knew she was upset but…oooh…” I put my hoof to my head as terrible ‘what if’ scenarios flashed through my mind.
“Twilight.”
“What if she did something reckless? What if she hurt herself? I am such a terrible friend; I should have been there for her! I…”
“Twilight! Heavens to Betsy, filly, calm down. Runnin’ ‘round like that ain't helpin’ nopony.” Applejack put her hooves on my shoulders. “You don’t know if anythin’ even happened. Yer a fine friend, just take a breather. Believe in Trix a little.”
I sighed. “You’re right, I know you are. I just get so nervous that something terrible is going to happen to her. I wish I could be more…there for her.”
“Let’s go inside. We can ask Spike if he saw where she went, then track the little troublemaker down.” She led the way to the library.
I followed, still a little unsure. Trixie had become so important to me over the last few days; I just felt a strong connection with her. She needed me…and maybe I was starting to need her too. Her smile was beautiful; if only she would show it more.
I opened the door to the library. I must have opened it too quickly, for it bumped one of the many bookshelves, sending a pile of books down on somepony who had been standing nearby.
“Ow.”
A grey pegasus with his wing in a sling emerged from the books I'd dropped on him. It was Silver Lining, a pony I had only encountered a few times before. From the looks of things his luck was as bad as ever. His sudden appearance distracted me from my other concerns. “Silver? Sorry about that. What brings you here?”
“Hey Twilight, hello Applejack. I was just looking for a book, but well, I wasn’t having any luck finding it.” He gave a soft, almost embarrassed smile.
“Howdy, Mr. Lining.”
“You do know that the library closed a couple hours ago right?” I asked, but the timid look he gave me forced me to change my tune. “But don’t worry about that. Didn’t Spike help you look?”
“I was helping…” Spike came down off a ladder. He had a large, half-eaten gemstone in his hand. “Silver Lining even found this morsel behind one of the books and gave it to me, but I couldn’t find his book either.”
“Don’t worry about it; these things happen.” Silver’s voice was resigned as he walked toward the door.
“Sorry, Silver, normally I’d be glad to help you look, but I’m kind of in a rush right now. I can’t find Trixie and I need to figure out what happened to her. Spike, did you see where she went?”
Spike shook his head, but Silver Lining spoke up. “Trixie? As in the Great and Powerful Trixie? I passed her on the way here, actually.”
“See Twilight? Ain't nothin’ to worry about.” Applejack went to sit down. She still seemed exhausted.
“Did you see where was she headed?” I felt a bit better, but not fully relieved yet.
“No, sorry, I didn’t.” He thought for a moment. “But she was being taken somewhere by Fluttershy.”
Now I felt calmer. Fluttershy was the perfect pony to cheer someone up. “You're wonderful, Silver; thank you. Now, what can I help you find?”
“Uh, it’s called…’Industrial Strength Luck Charms’ by Fourleaf.” He gave me an embarrassed look, but I wasn’t sure if it was from my praise or from the title he'd spoken.
I tried not to laugh. It wasn’t really that funny; it was definitely a book he could benefit from, but I couldn’t help giving a small chuckle. “All right, I’ll check our records and see where it got off to.”
“Thanks, Twilight. I do really appreciate this,” he said, blushing again.
After doing a check, I figured out why Spike couldn’t find the book. It wasn’t here. Somepony had checked it out. “Sorry, that title is out on loan right now…looks like most of our books on luck charms are.”
He gave a small chuckle. “Should have known. Can you tell me when it's due back?”
“Sure! It…was due back about two weeks ago, actually.” I squinted at my notes; this didn’t look good. “Seems Miss Derpy Hooves still has it…”
He looked crestfallen, so I quickly added, “I'll get in touch with her about it, and when I do, I’ll let you know, all right?”
“Thanks a lot, you guys are always so good to…” He was cut off by another book avalanche; this one with no apparent source. “Ow.”
One book bounced out of the pile covering Silver Lining and landed at my hooves. Its title was ‘Ye Hystories of ye Ancient Harmonious Elements and of Their Kynde’ by Fact Checker; it was very old and I had never seen this particular volume before. Did it have something to do with the Elements of Harmony?
As Silver extracted himself from the pile of tomes, he noticed the book I was holding. “Something tells me you should hang onto that book. Trust me.”
Silver Lining was as infamous for the good luck he spread as he was for his own bad luck, so I took his word for it. While I didn’t normally put stock in such things, Pinkie had taught me not to dismiss them immediately. Besides, it was a new book to read. I levitated it to a table to look at later as he opened the door to leave.
“Thanks for the help, Spike, Twilight. Good to see you, Applejack.”
“And thank you, Silver. If I hadn’t run into you, I'd still be worrying up a storm over Trixie right now.”
“No problem. You two are pretty close, aren’t you? You were pretty much all she talked about when I met her," he said as he lingered in the doorframe. “And you seem just as concerned about her.”
I felt my face turn red. Applejack didn’t miss a beat. “Hoooeey Twi, just how close are you and Trix gettin’?” She laughed.
Silver chuckled too. “You both have a lot in common.” He might have said more, but a gust of wind from an open window blew the door shut in his face. The only thing I could hear was a muffled ‘ow’.
“We…we aren’t all that close. Not really.” I shifted on my hooves.
“But the question is, do ya wanna be? Ah kinda noticed it too.”
“Her and me?” I turned more red than I think I’ve ever been. “I don’t…I mean, I haven’t thought about it. Besides, we’re both mares…”
“Does that matter? Ah’m not sayin’ ya haveta do anything; ah’m just sayin’ think about it, Sugar-cube.”
I didn’t have time to think about anything. A few minutes later, Trixie walked in the door, and she looked absolutely beautiful.
~~~~Trixie~~~~
The ‘emergency spa day’ didn’t go as poorly as I had suspected it would. Rarity was actually pretty forgiving—after I convinced her of my sincerity. At first, she had a rather icy disposition, but I think she began feeling sorry for me pretty quickly…and why not? I was pathetic. Very pathetic. Once we started talking, we just sort of clicked.
We talked of many things while we were being pampered. Rarity spoke of her shop and her dresses, and we swapped Canterlot stories. Fluttershy had actually talked down a dragon once…despite letting her rabbit boss her around. I spoke little of my shows; I didn’t want to start sounding like a braggart again. Instead, I spoke of my magic lessons and of my budding friendship with Twilight Sparkle. I think I might have started talking too much toward the end of our outing. Obsession isn’t healthy.
“My my my, you seem quite taken with our little librarian, aren’t you?” Rarity batted her eyelashes my way.
“Well, I obviously have a great respect for her…she has done so much for me.”
“Oh, don’t you be coy with us now, dear.” Her smile seemed sinister to me all of a sudden. “It is obvious; isn’t it, Fluttershy?”
“Oh my, I suppose it could be possible…do you really think so?” The yellow pegasus was as cryptic as her fellow conspirator.
“What in Celestia’s name are you both talking about?” Their stares had begun to make me feel rather nervous.
“Well, Trixie dear…I suspect that you may in fact have a tiny little crush on our mutual friend. Which I find quite adorable, I’ll have you know.”
“Her and me? As if that could happen.” I tried to laugh it off, but I suspect the color of my cheeks betrayed me. As if that could happen. As if she could ever love you. “Yeah, I doubt she could ever feel that way about me.”
“I don’t know; you both get along so well and she seems to worry a lot about you.” Fluttershy chimed back in.
“However, you are not denying my accusations.” That sly smile of Rarity’s never faded. “Do you harbor intentions for our lovely bookworm?”
“No, no, I don’t.” I looked away. And why is that now? “I’d just ruin my only friendship. I don’t think she’d ever love me. I’m…I’m intolerable. She could do so much better.”
“Is your throat getting sore? I might have something for that…” Fluttershy looked concerned.
“Utter nonsense. You have at least two other friends right here. Just remember; you are good enough and you deserve the best. Now, repeat that back to me.” Rarity was fairly intimidating when she tried to be.
“I’m good enough…and I deserve the best?”
“Again. Put more feeling into it.” She didn’t let up.
“I’m good enough and I deserve the best.”
“Honestly, Fluttershy could do better….no offense dear.”
“I’m good enough and I deserve the best!” I shouted—and I actually felt like I meant it a little bit, too. “Thanks, guys. I’ll think about what you said.”
“Just don’t break my little pony’s heart and I’ll be happy.” Rarity gave a dramatic flourish and we headed toward the exit.
I stopped in front of a mirror on the way out and couldn’t help but stare. I almost didn’t recognize the pony staring back at me. My hair, coat and tail were immaculate, but the biggest difference was my face. My eyes were bright, and I was smiling. I felt so much better. I thanked each of them and ran off. I ran to see Twilight Sparkle.
As I passed by the friendly (if unlucky) stallion from the other day, I called a greeting, but was in too big of a hurry to stop. I paused outside the door to catch my breath before entering. My heart was racing, and I suddenly felt rather nervous about going in. Rarity’s words kept echoing in my head; did I have a crush on Twilight Sparkle? As I walked in and saw her, I figured it out. She smiled at me as I came into the room…and I couldn’t stop smiling at her.
There was a moment of silence as we each stared at each other. I don’t know how long it would have lasted if Applejack hadn’t broken it. “Howdy, Trix! We were wonderin’ where ya ran off ta.”
“Hey AJ…sorry about…exploding you.” I had gotten my mind completely off my terrible mistake earlier, but it did look like she was okay.
“Aw, don’t fret none about it.” She kept smiling at me. “Don’t you look right fancy. Don’t she, Twi?”
Twilight seemed a little awkward as she approached me, shy even. It was kind of cute. “You look amazing, Trixie! Wow…I mean…wow…”
I don’t know what caused me to do what I did next. It was either the best decision or the biggest mistake of my life. It could have been caused by Rarity’s pep talk or from the look in her eyes, but I felt confident for the first time in a long time. I knew I wouldn’t regret what I did then, not ever.
I kissed Twilight Sparkle…and she kissed me back.