//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Tragic Magic // by Twinkletail //------------------------------// That night had been a difficult one for Rarity. Normally, the combination of her comfortable mattress and carefully-fluffed pillow was an easy one-two combination to which her consciousness would easily succumb, but the day's events, as well as the possible future ramifications of them, weighed heavily on her mind. What made it worse was the nigh-impossibility of narrowing the events down into one singular issue, as the problem was as multifaceted as her finest gemstone. At the core of the issue was her distrust of the reprehensible ruffian that was now taking up residence in the library. There was nary a doubt in her mind that she could trust Twilight implicitly; her Sparkle Kitten would never do a thing to harm any friend, let alone her marefriend. Trixie, on the other hoof, was a loathsome cur, completely incapable of garnering even the tiniest iota of her trust. Beneath that tacky hat and that less-than-stylish mane sat the brain of a liar and a swindler. She did not believe Trixie's sob story for one moment. She was a stage magician with a proven lying streak; coming up with a tale of morose sorrow in order to try and woo her way into her former love's bed was not beyond her. Her former love...it was this that vexed the fashionista the most. Twilight was an intelligent pony. Possibly the most intelligent pony she knew, in fact. If Trixie's deceitful nature was so obvious to Rarity, how in Equestria could Twilight, of all ponies, overlook it? How could Twilight have ever allowed herself to be drawn in by that vile pony's behavior? How could she have ever found herself romantically interested in such a contemptible harlot? Rarity pondered this for a few moments before realizing the answer. As brilliant as Twilight was, brilliance did not always translate into common sense. The poor naive girl had likely been swayed by the performer's silver tongue. Rarity had read enough romance novels to know that sometimes, all it took to win the heart of a pony who lacked experience in the game of love was a show of interest. This only made Rarity's anger burn brighter. Trixie was likely trying her luck at allowing lightning to strike twice. Meanwhile, she was stuck at home, having foolishly given the permission that created this opportunity. "Twilight...your marefriend is not here for you, is she?" "No...but she'll be back tomorrow." "She does not have to come back, Twilight Sparkle. For what do you need of anypony else when you have the Great and Powerful Trixie by your side?" "But I..." "Surely she agreed to let me stay at your home so our love could be rekindled. She consented to this, remember?" "...I suppose you're right..." "Take me, Twilight Sparkle. Take me now..." The white unicorn soon found herself pacing about her bedroom, unable to sit still any longer. She briefly considered heading over to the library that instant and sending that marefriend-stealing wench back to the streets where she belonged. She should have done that during dinner earlier that evening, but she could not muster up the nerve to do so. Each word of Trixie’s stories about her travels had irritated her, but she found herself incapable of doing anything about it, lest she earn the ire of her love. Now, though, she knew that the blue one had to leave. She gazed up at the clock, and quickly decided that Twilight would likely not be too happy with the idea of being woken up at 3 AM. The mare sighed and dropped back onto her mattress with a thump. Perhaps she was allowing her imagination to get the best of her. Perhaps she was thinking far too much into this situation. Perhaps, as Twilight had insinuated, everything truly was going to be fine. And still, it irritated her so. The way that Trixie tried to make her out to be the bad pony in the whole situation made her skin crawl, and such a thing was certainly not healthy for her complexion. With one sentence, the stage magician had bowed out of the villain's spotlight where she belonged and thrust the beuatiful protagonist into her place, all in an attempt to steal the heart of her fair ingenue. The look of disappointment Twilight had given her, accompanied by that scathing attack on the nature of her element...she had been played to perfection by the terrible blue mare in the atrocious star-studded apparel. Rarity found herself begrudgingly forced to admit that she, too, had been played perfectly by Trixie. Had she stuck to her guns and denied Trixie's request, then she would be out of her life, hopefully for good. Such behavior, however, would have caused quite a bit of strain on her relationship with Twilight, and she couldn't stand to have her Sparkle Kitten upset with her. It was a lose-lose situation for the seamstress. As she rest her head on the pillow, attempting sleep once more, Rarity hoped that the loss she had avoided was worth the loss she had accepted. Sleep eventually did come, but it hardly spelled the end for the beleaguered unicorn's troubles. A late wakeup time of 10 AM frustrated her, as while she did need her beauty sleep, she did not wish for it to come at the expense of her backlog of work to do in the boutique. Breakfast was hardly satisfying, as her distraction over the issue at hand caused her to lose track of how long her toast was browning...or blackening, as it would turn out. Even her work was affected. Normally she would never have thrown out a nearly-finished dress with no imperfections whatsoever, but it just so happened that its color was far too similar to that of a certain home-wrecking charlatan, so into the scrap bin it went. She gazed towards her other current project; a new dress for herself, which she planned on wearing to the big Princess Ball that Twilight had invited her to attend. She tried for some time to continue work on the piece, but after a while, she had to admit defeat. Twilight was her inspiration for this dress, and it was difficult to work when every thought of the one that inspired her was accompanied by dread of what might be happening between her and her ex at this very moment. Rarity sighed a heavy sigh, setting the dress back on its dress form. It was clear to her that she would not be getting any work done today, which left only one thing for her to do. She had to go to the library right this minute, to confirm or, hopefully, deny, her fears. As Rarity made her way towards Golden Oaks Library, she started to second-guess her worries. A nice stroll through town was her usual go-to when she had difficulty working on a piece and needed to step away, and the cool, refreshing afternoon air was doing wonders to clear her head. She thought of Twilight; her beautiful eyes served as windows to an equally, if not more, beautiful soul. Twilight was a pony who was endlessly grateful for her friends. She cared deeply for each one of them, and there was no way that she would betray Rarity in any fashion. It simply was not something that she would ever do. Rarity had to concede to herself that perhaps she had been reading way too many romance novels. To think that the introduction of another pony who was staying in her marefriend's house would instantly lead to a saucy incident. It was preposterous. "Oh, Trixie," Twilight would never say. "My love for you is burning anew!" "My sweet Twilight Sparkle," Trixie could not possibly be saying right now. "I want you more than I've ever wanted anypony." "Thank goodness Rarity is not around to witness our passion," were words that would never escape Twilight's mouth. "You are mine now and forever," Trixie probably wasn't telling her. "The rope that Rarity always uses is in the top drawer," Twilight shouldn't be saying, while hopefully not giving Trixie that half-lidded look that drove Rarity wild... Rarity broke into a gallop. Her peculiar behavior elicited a lot of attention from the ponies in town, but it did not matter to her. Her hooves would not allow her to slow down until she had reached her destination. Rarity winced as she skid to a halt in front of the library. Her perfect hooficure had been marred by her activities, and would require a trip to the spa very soon. However, this was very low in her list of worries as she entered the library. "Twilight?" Rarity called out, her eyes scouring the area. "Are you awake?" A silly question. Twilight was always awake by 7:30, impossibly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Today, though, she did not seem to be amongst the bookshelves or reading on her favorite cushion, as she typically would be. This raised a bit of concern in Rarity’s mind. Twilight was a creature of habit, always sticking to her very strict schedules. The sheer fact that she was not downstairs studying spoke volumes. Rarity took a deep breath, looking towards the stairs that led to the top floor of the library. She dreaded what she might find up there, but she knew that she had to find out. A nervous, slightly-scuffed white hoof stepped on the first stair, and before she even knew what was happening, she had ascended to the top. Her eyes darted left and right, between the doors of Twilight’s room and the guest bedroom. Both doors were closed. Her worry only grew, partially due to her wondering of what was going on behind either and partially out of nervousness about entering either without warning. Sure, she could knock, but that would give them time to stop doing whatever they might-be-but-probably-and-hopefully-were-not doing. However, it would be very rude of her to just intrude... “Tie it a little tighter,” came a voice from inside Twilight’s room. No more hesitation was needed, as Rarity made her very unladylike entrance into the bedroom. “What is going on in here?!” the white unicorn cried out. She set her gaze upon the bed, seeing the sight that she was hoping she would not see. Twilight was hogtied and lying prone on the bed, Trixie standing over her. The two mares stared at Rarity, who was now breathing heavily as she took in the sight. “I...I cannot believe that you would...” Rarity stammered, grasping at words to try and verbalize the emotions she was feeling. “...Would ask Trixie to show me an escape spell?” Twilight asked, her tone flat. Rarity blinked as she looked at the two. Surely she was not foolish enough to believe such a story...but the more she ruminated upon it, the more sense it made. Neither Twilight or Trixie was really in a position for any kind of advantage to be taken of Twilight’s helplessness. This was also around the time of day where Twilight would be studying to strengthen her magical ability...and Trixie, as a stage magician, was very likely to know such a spell... “Are you okay, Rarity?” Twilight asked. Rarity realized that she had been silent for far too long. “Perhaps the Great and Powerful Trixie should allow the two of you to speak alone,” Trixie said. She lit her horn up, letting Twilight’s bindings fall limp. “We can continue this another time, I suppose. I should probably make my bed, after all. It would be impolite not to do so when I am a guest in your house.” Twilight stretched her legs out, then cast a look at Rarity, one which made the white unicorn’s cheeks turn beet red. She knew from that look alone that she was in trouble. Her nemesis strode past her, giving her what she was sure was a devious little smirk as she passed. Rarity considered pointing this out to Twilight, but she was in deep enough as it was. She turned her head to see her Kitten suddenly face-to-face with her. “What is the meaning of this, Rarity?” Twilight asked. She had a very distinct way of conveying her disappointment without once having to raise her voice. “W-well...” Rarity began. “I mean...I must admit that I have been a bit curious about what you and Trixie have been doing...” She instantly regretted the venom that seeped into her pronunciation of Trixie’s name, because Twilight had caught it herself, and her sigh in response dripped with disappointment. “After you left following dinner,” Twilight responded, “We talked a little more about her travels. She talked about how she wanted to apologize to you, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash for what she’d done to you during her show, and I said that I was sure you three would accept her apology. She went to the guest room and went to sleep, and I went to sleep too. Then we woke up this morning, had breakfast, discussed bringing her to the others to apologize, and then she wanted to show me this escape spell. And then somepony walked in before she could perform it.” Rarity shrunk back, offering a sheepish smile. “...It sounds like you two had a lot of fun!” Rarity said. Twilight rolled her eyes, and Rarity hung her head. “I am dreadfully sorry, Kitten...I wish it was not the case, but I still feel somewhat uncomfortable having her around.” Twilight sighed, then nodded. “I understand, Rarity,” she said, giving her a sympathetic look. “This is why I was worried about telling you of my time with Trixie.” She placed a hoof on Rarity’s side. “But I promise you that she, and I, can be trusted. I feel it.” “And she feels correctly,” came the voice of a suddenly-returning Trixie. “I can assure you, Rarity, that I do not plan on any misdeeds with your lovely marefriend. The Great and Powerful Trixie will not lay a hoof on her for anything more than a simple hug between friends.” Rarity glared at Trixie, scouring her expression for any obvious signs of lying. Finding none, she then turned to Twilight, whose gaze begged understanding. The white unicorn sighed. “Very well,” she said. “I...suppose I shall trust you.” She followed this under her breath with “For now.” Fortunately for her, neither mare heard her, or if they had, they did not indicate as such.