Trixie looked around at the dark landscape around herself. It was a sight she had visited many times recently, and it was starting to grow on her. As was the pony she found herself meeting up with there.
“You seem to be doing well,” Twinkle said as Trixie approached her. “A lot more cheerful than your previous visits. What’s changed?”
“Maybe it’s because the Clow Cards have been easier to capture lately,” Trixie suggested. “Or else, Trixie has just gotten used to hanging around Sparkle and her friends.”
“Oh? Not just my granddaughter, but her friends, too?”
“… Well, for the remainder of our hunt for the Clow Cards, Sparkle suggested we stay close together, since the cards themselves are starting to fight back. Rather aggressively.”
Twinkle nodded. “I see. Tell me, what kind of ponies are my granddaughter’s friends? The only one you’ve really told me about is that mare you have a crush on.”
Trixie’s face turned red as an image of Fluttershy entered her mind. “W-Well, they’re not really worth talking about.”
“I’m simply curious, as to who my granddaughter is hanging out with.”
“… Well, that’s understandable, I suppose. First, there’s a farmer, named Apple… something. Knows nothing about art. Quite a bonehead. But she’s at least got a level temper…”
“Sounds like a nice girl.”
“Then there’s Rainbow Trash. Even Trixie feels bad for Sparkle, being around that one.”
“Sounds, er… lovely.”
“Now Fluttershy, on the other hoof…” Trixie smiled and turned her head to the side to hide her blush. “Trixie would rather live with her than Sparkle.”
“You’re living together?” Twinkle asked.
Trixie nodded. “Yeah. And let me tell you, it’s not easy. Your granddaughter snores quite loudly, by the way. Anyway, her other friends are… Rarity, she’s not so bad. And that pink one… Trixie doesn’t hate her, but the less time spent around her, the better.”
“Does she have a name?”
“Possibly, but after just five seconds of listening to her talk at supersonic speed, Trixie started to drown out everything she said.”
“My, it sounds like my granddaughter has quite the circle of friends. A diligent farmer, a kind vetennarian, a fancy dressmaker, a boastful showmare, a-”
“Stop right there. Trixie is not one of Sparkle’s friends.”
“Oh?” Twinkle gave Trixie a curious look. “The two of you spend so much time together, and are looking out for each other so much, that I just assumed-”
“Yeah, well don’t,” Trixie said sharply. “Sparkle is Trixie’s rival, get it right.”
Twinkle watched Trixie for a moment. The showmare had turned to face away from her, and was noisily slurping her tea. A hint of red could be seen on the side of the blue mare’s face. “Hm… very well, if you say so…”
Twilight stirred in her bed, flattening her ears against her head to drown out the sound that had been bothering her for a while now. As she slowly awoke, and opened her eyes to the world around her, her brain started to wonder what the sound was, and she listened more intently to it.
“Is somepony singing?” she asked herself as she slowly sat up in her bed. “Wait, this presence…” Suddenly, Twilight bolted up in her bed, her eyes wide open and her mind on full alert as she looked around for the Clow Card that she was sensing.
Turning to her left, Twilight started nudging the sleeping Kero on her bedside table, using a napkin as a blanket. “I’ll have five servings of takoyaki… Nah, make that six…” the Guardian Beast mumbled in a drowsy tone.
“Kero, wake up!” Twilight whispered, not wanting to wake Trixie. Not after the last time she had accidentally woken the showmare up. Compared to what happened that time, Rarity no longer felt offended about the incident with her own mane. In fact, she felt thankful she had gotten off so easily.
“Huh? Whuzzat?” Kero yawned as he sat up in his little makeshift bed, looking up at Twilight with a tired look on his face. “What’s up? It’s still dark out.”
“Kero, I sense a Clow Card nearby! And there’s this strange singing noise, too. Listen.” The two were silent for a bit, as Twilight waited for Kero to pick up on the familiar singing outside. “Hey, I know this song… This is the song the Cutie Mark Crusaders sang at their talent show.”
“Well there ya go. Mystery solved,” Kero said, before falling back onto his pillow in an attempt to go back to sleep. Twilight wasn’t finished yet, though.
“It’s way too early for any of them to be up singing! And I told you, I sense a Clow Card!”
“Then it’s probably the Song card,” Kero told her, followed by a long yawn. “Ya remember Voice, right? Song is attracted to nice singing voices, and copies ‘em into her memory. Now go capture it and lemme sleep, will ya?”
Twilight frowned at the lazy Guardian Beast beside her. ‘Sheesh, talk about cranky! Who was it that asked me to hunt the Clow Cards in the first place again? Oh, that’s right! It was you!’ Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself, and then slowly climbed out of bed. “I don’t want to wake Trixie. She looks like she’s having a nice dream… Do you think it’d be dangerous to go alone?”
“Nah. Song has a nice personality. She’s just a lil’ on the shy side. If anything, she’d be more scared of you than you of her.”
“Sounds like Fluttershy, then,” Twilight mused to herself. “I wonder if I should take Spike with me?” She giggled at her own joke, which seemed lost or completely ignored by Kero, who was soon snoring again as he fell back to sleep. “Fine, then. I’ll do this on my own…”
Picking up her key and her cards, Twilight crept down the stairs as silently as she could, and left the library. “Right, now, where is it? …” Twilight looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the singing. She looked over towards the Ponyville clock tower. “Over there.”
Twilight made her way through the streets of Ponyville, the singing getting louder and louder as she made her way towards the clock tower. There was no doubt in her mind that she was heading in the right direction, and this was confirmed when she got there, and found a blue mare sitting at the top, with a long purple mane, singing the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ theme song.
“Ugh. Great. Of course she’s be at the top…” Twilight summoned her wand, and pulled out her Jump card. However, before she activated it, she remembered what Kero had told her about Song being shy, and how she would probably be afraid of Twilight. “… Better approach her more quietly,” she said to herself as she put the Jump card away, and opted instead to climb the stairs inside the tower to the top.
After the long and tiring trek towards the top of the tower, Twilight was panting, and her legs were killing her. She cursed Clow Reed a couple of times in her mind for creating such troublesome things as the Clow Cards, but she calmed down a little as she finally reached the top.
She could see Song sitting on the edge of the tower, singing in Sweetie Belle’s voice the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ theme song. She looked so clam, so gentle. And it seemed like she was having fun. It almost made Twilight feel bad as she approached the card slowly, taking care not to make a sound as she neared her.
‘Sorry,’ Twilight thought as she raised her wand into the air. “Return to the guise you were meant to be in!” Song jumped and turned around, just in time to see Twilight’s wand swing towards her, and stop just short of her face. “Clow Card!”
The singing ceased, and Song’s startled look turned to a frown for a moment, and then to a look of defeat as she was pulled into her card form. Twilight grabbed the card, and looked at it. “Thank goodness,” Twilight said to herself, a relieved smile on her face. “She looks happy… I guess I’ll let her out from time-to-time, as long as she won’t cause any trouble.”
And with that, and with a very loud yawn, Twilight decided to return home, before she suddenly fell asleep at the top of the clock tower.
“How dare you?!” Trixie shouted, bits of cereal spraying from her mouth and just narrowly missing Twilight, who quickly ducked to the side to avoid them. “You went out and captured that card on your own?! Inexcusable!”
“You were asleep!” Twilight argued. “I didn’t want to wake you!”
“So you decided to sneak around behind Trixie’s back! How low of you, Sparkle!”
Twilight sighed, and brought a hoof to her face. She didn’t get much sleep after returning home, so she wasn’t really in the mood for this. ‘Stupid Kero. Why couldn’t you have waited until later to ask about Song?’
“You’d better take Trixie with you next time,” Trixie said, glaring daggers at Twilight.
Twilight stared back at Trixie, and simply nodded. “Sorry, Trixie… I’ll make sure to let you know the next time a Clow Card pops up.”
Trixie examined Twilight’s face for any hints that she was lying. As she looked more closely, she took note of how cute Twilight was when she was upset, and how gentle she sounded, even when somepony was yelling at her. Trixie blushed, and turned her attention back to her cereal. “Well, Trixie supposes she can let you off with a warning, this time.”
Twilight sighed in relief, happy that the situation didn’t get too out of hoof. Meanwhile, Kero looked at the two mares with a serious expression on his face. “Well, there aren’t that many Clow Cards left, anyway,” he told them, gathering both mares’ attentions.
“Really?” Twilight asked excitedly. “Thank goodness!”
“So, this competition is coming to a close, huh?” Trixie asked, to which Kero nodded.
‘That’s right… All of the Clow Cards have almost been collected. And then, after the last one is captured, it will be his time to show up. Yue.’