The morning train huffed its way into the Ponyville station and sat steaming quietly while the passengers departed. Trixie did a rail grind down the exit stairway to the station platform and paused, looking around. In the few weeks since she’d left, it didn’t look like Ponyville had changed much.
Pushing off again, Trixie rolled down the street towards the library. The tree building was shuttered and dark. Peeping through the window, Trixie discovered that it was also suspiciously uncluttered. Apparently nopony had been inside for a while.
Trixie reached out to the lock on the door with a bit of magic, trying to decide which method she should use to pick it. A small low-powered charm had been placed on the deadbolt, however, and it sprang open in recognition of her magical signature. Twilight must have anticipated Trixie would arrive.
Going through the door, Trixie took a look around. There was a thin layer of dust in the still library, although without anypony being there to stir it periodically, the dust was lighter than it could have been.
This building was where Trixie had spent a few months growing up again after being hit with the age spell. She had lived with Valiant as a father and Twilight as a roommate. While the library seemed to be dark and empty, it was still the closest thing Trixie had to a home. She set down her things. It was good to be back.
She checked the kitchen. The refrigerator was unplugged and it was empty anyway. Trixie looked for other food and found none. It seemed that Twilight and Spike had moved out.
Trixie shook off her cape and hat, leaving the library with just her skateboard. The weather was pleasant enough, and ponies here knew her.
She spotted Rainbow Dash coming down the street. The usually-speedy pegasus looked lightly bloated. Trixie remembered that she was pregnant. Guinness, an immigrant from Earth like Valiant, had knocked her up. Trixie thought that the conception had only happened a few weeks before, but Rainbow looked further along than that.
Shrugging it off, Trixie stopped to speak with Rainbow. “I just got back to town. Where are Twilight and Spike?”
Rainbow did not regard her with a particularly friendly expression. Granted, there were a few decent reasons for that, but Trixie knew it was mostly because Rainbow was a bitch.
“They moved back to Canterlot,” said Rainbow. “Princess Celestia wanted Twilight to undergo Princess Training.”
Trixie frowned. “Wait, didn’t Twilight’s wings disappear after she killed one of the creators of this universe? I knew she wasn’t happy about the prospect that she would have to leave her friends here in Ponyville.”
Rainbow shrugged. “I try not to think too much about how this whole world might be just a figment of an imagination somewhere.”
To be fair, neither did Trixie. She was aware that several ponies with immense powers had shown up to corroborate Valiant’s story about being from another universe. Based on their story, Equestria had started out as an idea of a virtual reality world and gotten out of control until all the residents actually had minds of their own. While it was somewhat humbling to realize that she didn’t used to be real, Trixie also was slightly proud to have overthrown her creators.
Continuing on, Trixie met Pinkie and Fluttershy on the street. The two of them were in lip lock, with Pinkie passionately taking the lead. Fluttershy looked bored, with just a touch of embarrassment. Trixie was proud of her, as this was a vast improvement on Fluttershy’s old tolerance of public displays of affection. Glancing around, apparently all of Ponyville had, too. None of the residents paid the two mares much mind.
Trixie rolled by behind Pinkie’s back and traded waves with Fluttershy. Pinkie did not appear to notice. Oh well, she would find out eventually that Trixie was back and then there would be a party.
The coffee shop was closer than the grocery store, and Trixie had the urge to hang out with a few ponies she was familiar with. She could stock up on food on the way back to the library.
Opening the door, Trixie was greeted with a few townsponies enjoying the morning with a cup of joe or some snacks. The small stage was occupied with a few band instruments instead of the usual live-reading poets. Some music would definitely be an improvement over amateur poetry, Trixie thought. The band was currently taking a break, however.
She saw Guinness, a lanky blue pegasus, sitting at a table with a rough-looking griffon. The two of them were talking about something. Trixie walked over, hoping Guinness might have heard from her father.
The stallion looked up as she approached. “Hey Trixie, long time no see.” He introduced her to the griffon, who was named Squibles. Trixie thought he resembled a pirate.
“He is my business partner,” Guinness explained. “We are opening an authentic Irish pub right here in Ponyville. Of course, Squibles doesn’t really know what that means, but I’ve got plenty of experience for the both of us.”
“I don’t know what Irish means either,” said Trixie.
Guinness nodded. “Yes, I suppose not. Valiant only drinks tequila.”
Trixie thought for a moment. “What does Rainbow think? How is this going to affect your foal?”
“Well, I have to do something for money.” Guinness shrugged. “I prefer beer to hard liquor, and that shouldn’t be too hard to brew. Squibles was going to handle the meat for non-ponies, and I am working on a variety of products that imitate the same taste but for vegetarians.”
Trixie nodded. “It sounds like you have a good plan.”
“One thing,” Guinness lamented. “I was looking for a house band. That is why I came here today to scope out local talent.”
He gestured to the stage, which was still unoccupied. Trixie thought for a moment. “Maybe I can help.”
She walked over to the stage at sat down at the drum set. The crowd in the coffee shop noticed and started to pay attention. Trixie brushed her mane back with a hoof and flashed a grin. With her magic, the drumsticks jumped to life.
The resulting eight-minute drum solo had every pony within earshot transfixed. Trixie had been in the school band when she attended Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but hadn’t liked it much because the percussion section was well in the back and kept her out of view. That didn’t mean she never tried to get noticed, however.
The audience broke into applause as Trixie stepped off the stage after her performance. A brief thought about how good she could have played with eight legs flashed through her mind, but she suppressed it with a smile. The band pony who owned the drum set looked as if he’d just been gelded and his band mates were studiously ignoring him.
Guinness looked happily stunned, but his mood did not last. Checking the clock on the wall, he announced that he had to go but invited Trixie to walk with him. Trixie preferred to roll on her skateboard, but the long-legged Guinness kept up a brisk pace anyway.
“If you want, I can easily see you in the tavern band,” Guinness told her.
“I thought it was a pub?”
He shrugged. “Whatever. My mind’s been somewhere else lately. Hang on, I have to buy something.”
Guinness ducked into a jewelry shop. Trixie waited patiently outside, looking in through the windows to see Guinness being offered a few rings by the jeweler. He selected one and paid for it, emerging from the shop with a grin on his face.
It looked like a wedding horn ring to Trixie, but Rainbow wasn’t a unicorn. Pegasi had different courting rituals, but how could Guinness – a pegasus – not know that? She decided the ring must be for something else.
“I’ll be going off to the hospital now,” said Guinness. “I was going to meet Rainbow for her first ultrasound.”
Trixie nodded to him. “Have a good time.”
As Guinness left, Trixie considered her own love life. Or rather, the fact that she didn’t have one. Since the radiation, she had been afraid get too close to anypony. Well, even before that, only a few ponies could stand her attitude enough to get close to her. In contrast, Valiant was strictly celibate because he wasn’t technically a pony, however that didn’t seem to stop Guinness.
Trixie looked up as three fillies in a bipedal robot came down the street. From the cockpit, Apple Bloom called, “Hey Trixie! We need your help!”
“What do you need?” she responded.
“Uh, well, it’s about show biz,” said Sweetie Belle as the robot came to a stop.
“And we were trying to get cutie marks for that,” added Scootaloo.
“I know you’ve tried quite a few things like that before,” said Trixie.
The Crusaders nodded in unison. Apple Bloom explained, “But there’s a problem.”
“We can’t try anything new now because there’s this unicorn that just showed up in town and says that all the show biz belongs to her,” complained Sweetie.
“She says her name is Starburst or something.” Scootaloo shrugged.
Trixie stepped onto her board. “Come with me, girls. Maybe you can get cutie marks for watching beatdowns.”
The fillies cheered.