//------------------------------// // 1 - Chance Encounter (Part I) // Story: A TrixDash Love Story // by Yukito //------------------------------// Baltimare – a town located on the eastern coast of Equestria, just above Horseshoe Bay, where most of the ships that travel between Equestria and neighbouring nations dock. It is not the biggest town on the Equestrian map, but it is by no means the smallest, either. The town is famous for its diversity of culture; business, art, music, blacksmithing, quarrying, tailoring… Baltimare is the place to go if you want to sample a wide variety of cultures without all the travel expenses. It also a place that many ponies go to when they retire, as the coast makes for a great relaxation spot for senior citizens to spend their days, and there is one of Equestria’s biggest golf courses located just outside of the town. Rainbow Dash suggested it to her father, Spectrum Brush, after he announced his retirement from racing. Five years ago, when Rainbow Dash had just moved out of the house, Spectrum had suffered a heart attack during his race, and was rushed to the hospital immediately. He survived, but he decided then that he was simply too old to continue and, after one final race against the Wonderbolts, announced his retirement. He wasn’t sad, and he left no regrets behind. He always raced with honour and pride, and as he looks back on those day behind him, he smiles. Now-a-days, he has taken up a small job in an antique shop, whilst passing his spare time with painting, Spectrum’s second favourite activity after racing. He has made many friends in town, and has generally been accepted as one of the town’s very own. And, to make his life complete, he still receives visits from his daughter once or twice a month. Her last visit revealed that she had made it into the Wonderbolts Academy, which naturally brightened the stallion’s entire day even more than flirting with the pretty mare whose café he frequents. As Spectrum opened up his shop for the day, he looked up at the clock behind him and smiled. “Dashter’s gonna be here soon. Better make myself look presentable.” Licking his hoof and walking over towards a nearby mirror, Spectrum leaned down and brushed his hoof over his messy mane once. “Ah, that should be alright.” With that, Spectrum walked over to the counter and grabbed his magazine as he waited for his first customer to walk into the store. As Rainbow Dash flew through the sky at a high altitude, she closed her eyes for a second and picked up her speed, feeling the pleasant breeze of the morning air running through her mane. It was nearing midday now, and she had been flying for about thirty minutes, ever since getting off of the train a few stops back. Taking the train the whole way would have been faster, but also, it would have been more boring. Rainbow Dash’s eyes opened, and she saw the town of Baltimare in the distance, drawing closer to her quickly. She gradually dropped her speed and lowered her altitude, and soon she was flying just above the ground at a leisurely pace. “Alright, first thing’s first!” Rainbow said though her heavy, ragged breathing. “Make a stop at the park to get some water, take five, and then, go and meet dad…” After a brief moment to catch her breath and find her bearings, Rainbow Dash began making her way towards the nearby park, remembering its location from her previous visits to Baltimare. Her destination was the water fountain in the centre of the large park, flying over the fillies and colts playing below her and performing a few somersaults on the way, earning a little applause from the little ones. After reaching the water fountain and taking a nice long drink, Rainbow let out a sigh of relief and wiped her lips with a foreleg. As she did so, she noticed something that made her eyes widen. A wooden trailer in the distance, sitting by the lakeside, with a small wooden decoration hanging above its entrance in the shape of a certain somepony’s Cutie Mark. However, the trailer looked a lot smaller than the previous one like it that Rainbow Dash had seen. Not to mention it looked shoddy, and mouldy, and was covered in graffiti. Words like ‘FAKE’, or ‘FRAUD’, or ‘GET OUT!’ were painted on the side, along with an image of what Rainbow Dash could only imagine was an ursa minor scaring away a crying blue pony in a diaper. Standing outside the trailer was the pony it belonged to: Trixie. Or ‘the Great and Powerful Trixie’, as she also known as. Not wearing her signature hat and cape, but instead wearing a thick black cloak with the hood down. Standing in front of her were three other mares: the first was a yellow Earth Pony mare with a curly purple and yellow man, the second was a yellow Pegasus with a blue mane, and the third was a pink Unicorn with a striped purple and light-purple mane. The three mares were laughing at Trixie, whilst the showmare herself was clearly feeling very annoyed. “What’s the matter?” the Earth Pony asked, pointing at the graffiti art of the ursa minor. “Why don’t you just use that ‘amazing magic’ to vanquish it?” “Maybe if we were inside her deluded little head!” the Pegasus said, clutching her stomach as she laughed in the air. “Careful guys! If we leave her alone, she might get scared and run away!” “Then she’ll make up something to make herself feel better,” the Unicorn said, raising her hoof to her mouth to giggle. “Well, she has no other talents. She’s the only one who believes she does.” “You want to see talent?” Trixie asked, her horn glowing and the three mares backing up ever-so-slightly in response. Rainbow Dash readied herself to cut in, before Trixie’s magic died down and she held a hoof to her head. ‘Too tired… and hungry…’ Trixie shook her head to clear the pain, only for the three mares to resume their laughter. “Oooh, so scared!” the Pegasus cried. “Somepony, please help me from the talentless hack!” Rainbow Dash cringed at the insult, as it reminded her of somethin from her childhood. “Hey Rainbow Crash, heard you signed up for the school’s wingball team! Didn’t anypony tell you that ya have to have talent to play wingball?” “Come one, come all, come and see the blunders of the Weak and Powerless Trixie!” the Unicorn mare added, causing Rainbow to grind her teeth together, “Hey look! It’s the walking disaster, Rainbow Crash! Hey Crash, this time why don’t you try staying in the air?!” “Careful guys,” the Earth Pony cautioned her two friends. “She might use a smoke bomb and run away! Then we’ll be sorry!” “Hah! As if!” the Pegasus responded. “If you want to leave, go ahead! Nopony will stop you!” “Hay, we’ll be glad to see your hide hightailing it out of here!” the Unicorn added. “Let’s face it, it’s not as if anypony even wants you here!” Rainbow Dash felt a vein popping in her forehead. “Hey Crash, just drop out already! Not like you really belong here, and it’s not like anypony’ll miss you! Hay, they’ll be glad that they can fly around without you getting in their way!” ‘I can’t take this,’ Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she sent a glare into the direction of the three mares. ‘She may be a show-off, but come on! There’s no call for saying those kind of things!’ “GAH!” Rainbow Dash gasped as she saw Trixie lunge forward and deliver a swift uppercut towards the Unicorn, sending her flying backwards and crashing down onto the ground behind her. “I-I’m bleeding!” the Unicorn cried as she pressed a hoof to her muzzle. “What the hell?! You psycho!” the Pegasus shouted, wings flaring and teeth baring as she glared at the enraged showmare. “You want to see what Trixie can do?” Trixie asked the Pegasus. “She can wipe the floor with your flanks, that’s what she can do!” “Hey, break it up!” Rainbow Dash shouted, shooting forward and putting herself between the two before the fight could escalate any further. “That’s enough! There are kids here, y’know?!” “Who are you?!” the Pegasus shouted. “Don’t tell me you’re friends with that loser!” “Trix-” “Shut it!” Rainbow Dash shouted, cutting Trixie off. “What’s your deal? So she couldn’t take down an ursa minor. Could you?” The Pegasus and Earth Pony looked at each other for a second, and then back at Rainbow Dash. “It’s not just that. She lies about everything! We heard about how her ‘amazing magic’ is really just kiddy stuff she builds up.” “Have you seen it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “‘Cause I don’t think they give out magic Cutie Marks to just anypony. Maybe you should see her stuff before you just believe every little thing you hear.” Rainbow Dash stepped forward, causing the two mares to back away. “And even if she was lying, how does that warrant this kinda treatment?!” she shouted, pointing at the graffiti on the trailer. “W-Well, we…” A few seconds passed, and no answer was given. “Now apologise, and get outta here!” Neither pony responded, so Rainbow Dash flared out her wings and slammed her hooves together. “I said, apologise!” “W-We’re sorry!” the Pegasus blurted out suddenly. The Earth Pony and Unicorn nodded together in unison. “Now go! Do something a little more productive than just making ponies feel bad!” The three ponies turned around and left in a hurry, anxious to get away from the angry and crazy duo before they got hurt. When they were out of sight, Rainbow Dash turned around to face Trixie. “As for you-” “What are you doing?” Trixie asked, silencing the Pegasus before her. “Trixie isn’t going to reward you, if that was your hope.” Rainbow Dash sighed and slammed a hoof into her face. “No, I just didn’t like seeing them… bothering you like that. It wasn’t cool.” “Oh? But it was none of your business,” Trixie said. “And in case you didn’t know, Trixie could have easily made them leave all on her own.” “Yeah, by breaking their noses. Which I also didn’t want to see.” Rainbow Dash shook her head and hovered into the air. “Anyway, don’t you have anything nicer to say to the pony who just helped you out?” Trixie scoffed and turned her head away. “Did Trixie ask you for help?” Rainbow Dash groaned and was about to leave, when Trixie suddenly spoke up again. “Just mind your own business, Pegasus.” “It’s Rainbow Dash,” Rainbow corrected her. “And my business is making sure ponies aren’t being ganged up on or bullied like that.” Trixie didn’t respond to that, but instead just gave the Pegasus a deadpan stare. “I, uh… don’t like seeing stuff like that. I got bullied myself in school… and had ponies tell me I’d never amount to anything. You shouldn’t listen to them, y’know?” “Oho? And since when did you become a Trixie supporter?” “I didn’t,” Rainbow answered in an instant. “But I’m not so stupid that I’d forget the magic you used on me back then, or the fact that your show did go over well with the other ponies. I don’t exactly like you, but that doesn’t mean I wanna see you go down just because of one little incident.” “Well, like Trixie said, you should mind your own business. The Great and Powerful Trixie can do just fine on her own, and she certainly does not need her enemies taking pity on her.” Trixie’s stomach suddenly growling cut the showmare off, and caused her to blush as she pulled her cloak over her body to hide its malnourished form. “Now, if you’ll excuse the Great and Powerful Trixie, she was just about to go and have her lunch.” Rainbow Dash watched as Trixie turned to leave, climbing up onto her trailer and opening the door to walk inside. She hadn’t said anything, but she definitely saw it. Trixie’s body, so thin that her ribs were showing. Her mane was as tidy as before, but it was also clear that it hadn’t been washed properly for a while. It had lost the shine it had the last two times Rainbow had seen it. Rainbow remembered Trixie’s story of how her shows hadn’t been going so well, and she had just witnessed firsthoof how ponies reacted to her mere presence. ‘Is she not eating right, ‘cause she doesn’t have enough money?’ Noticing that the trailer door was left slightly ajar, Rainbow Dash decided to let her curiosity take over for a bit, and climbed up onto the trailer to take a peek through the door. Inside was not what she was expecting to see. It was dark, and dank, and there was barely anything in there at all. A sleeping bag, a small mirror, a brush, and three bottles of water. And also, a half-eaten orange sat to the side, whilst Trixie held in her hoof a small plate with three orange slices on it. She slowly lifted one up to her mouth, and bit into it, eating slowly so as to savour the taste. “Is that your lunch?” Rainbow Dash asked as she walked inside, startling Trixie. “W-What are you doing in here?!” Trixie demanded, glaring at the intruder. “Oh, sorry. I got kinda curious…” Rainbow said with a sheepish grin. “But, seriously, is that all you’re eating? Just three orange slices?” “… Yes,” Trixie said, taking another bite of her first slice. “Not that it is any of your business, but this will tide Trixie over for the next two days.” Rainbow’s eyes grew wide. She intended not to eat again for the next two days? Was she serious? Whether she was or not, Rainbow Dash didn’t like it. She narrowed her eyes, and walked closer, much to the showmare’s obvious annoyance. “Dude, no.” Trixie raised an eyebrow in confusion. “‘No’? No what?” she asked. “No, I’m not gonna just stand here and watch somepony starve themself like that!” Rainbow’s wings flared, and she grabbed the rest of the orange with her left forehoof. Trixie was about to protest, until the orange was shoved towards her face. “Eat it. The whole thing.” Trixie grit her teeth in rage, and tried her best not to swat the orange out of Rainbow’s hoof. “Perhaps you don’t quite understand the purpose of rationing. It is to ensure survival over a long period of time, even if it means being just a little hungry during. If Trixie were to eat all of her food now, she would have nothing left and would die within, oh, a week?” “I’ll take care of your food problem,” Rainbow Dash said, pushing the orange forward towards Trixie’s muzzle. Trixie pulled back in annoyance. “You’re not just gonna be a ‘little hungry’, y’know? Your gut’s gonna eat itself out.” “Maybe, but what choice does Trixie have? And why should Trixie trust the likes of you, hm?” “I’m offering you free food, what’s not to trust?” “You and Trixie aren’t exactly on the best of terms. You could be…” Trixie stopped, and she gave the Pegasus a disgusted look as she finally caught on to her game. “You’re planning to poison Trixie, aren’t you?” Rainbow Dash was shocked by the sudden accusation, and rather offended, too. “Get real! Why the hay would I poison you?!” “Because you hate Trixie? Because the last two times you and Trixie met, Trixie made you look a fool, and banished your friend from town?” “That’s no reason to kill somepony!” Rainbow shouted, now starting to lose patience herself. “I’m competitive, not insane!” “Then why would you offer to help Trixie, and expect nothing in return, huh?!” “Because I don’t wanna see you starve to death!” Trixie reared back at the force of Rainbow’s voice, her eyes wide with surprise. “And I think it’s quite clear that nopony else is gonna help you, so I will! Look, I know it’s not easy to trust ponies when you’re being bullied, but-” “The Great and Powerful Trixie is not being bullied!” Trixie argued. “She is being heckled, and she was just about to do away with those ponies, anyway.” “Bullied, heckled, it’s all the same thi-” Rainbow Dash stopped herself, and pulled her gaze away from Trixie’s with a nervous laugh. “… Uh, then…” ‘C’mon, think! How do I get this stubborn fool to accept my offer?’ “How about, if you let me do this as a way of saying sorry for interrupting your show that time?” Trixie scoffed and turned her head. “We are already even for that, remember? When Trixie challenged and defeated you in front of that crowd?” ‘She considers us even? Huh, and here I was still holding a grudge…’ Rainbow paused for a moment to think of another plan. “… Wait, why exactly don’t you have any food, anyway? What happened to that job you had on that rock farm?” “Trixie is no rock farmer!” Trixie shouted. This time, it was Rainbow Dash that was pushed back by the force of Trixie’s voice. “Trixie is a showmare! She refuses to take such a job simply because these ignorant ponies can’t accept her brilliance!” Rainbow Dash frowned, and stepped forward again. “Well, I don’t really think you have that much choice. I mean, if you can’t perform, then-” “Tell me, Rainbow Trash. If your wings suddenly stopped working, and you could no longer fly… would you settle for just any old job out there?” Rainbow Dash frowned at the insult thrown her way, but ignored it so that she could answer the question. “Well, obviously it wouldn’t be easy, but-” “And if Twilight Snarkle lost her magic, and her ability to read, and could longer be the Princess’ student or a librarian or whatever she is! Do you think she’ll just settle for any old job?” “It wouldn’t be easy,” Rainbow Dash admitted, “But our friends would be there. They’d support us, and help us keep our spirits up. That’s what would keep us going… I think.” As she said all that, her face turned a shade of red. She couldn’t believe how sappy she was being, and just for the sake of this stubborn showmare. Yes, she hated bullying… but would she really go so far, just to help somepony who clearly didn’t want the help? “Well then, that’s where you and I differ,” Trixie muttered, her stomach’s growling cutting her off, and forcing her to take the final bite of her first orange slice. “You could make it through such problems because your friends are there for you, but in Trixie’s case… she’d be suffering in a job she hated, a job she wasn’t meant for… and there would be no reward at the end of it. Nothing to look forward to after a hard day’s work, besides the same old pain and suffering the following morning. Tell me, why should Trixie put herself through that?” Rainbow Dash felt a pang of sympathy pass through her as she heard the story. ‘No friends? … Boy, do I know how that feels. No wonder Fluttershy wanted us to invite Trixie to stay with us. She must have already caught on… while I just judged her without getting to know her.’ “Now leave. Trixie is trying to eat.” Rainbow Dash looked towards the door leading outside, and noticed something. Something she hadn’t seen when she looked in earlier, because it was hidden beside the door. It was Trixie’s cape, hanging on the wall, and her hat above it. And they were both cleaner than Trixie herself was. They were torn, so she obviously used them often… but they were still very clean. ‘No matter what happens, she’s determined to do this showmare thing, huh? Even when she just gets kicked around so much, she always gets back up and tries again…’ Rainbow turned back to Trixie, who was looking at her impatiently, clearly wondering why the Pegasus hadn’t left yet. “You really won’t give up, no matter what?” Trixie looked confused for a second. “Give up? You mean my shows?” “Yeah.” “… The Great and Powerful Trixie… will never quit. You ponies can kick her about all you want, but she refuses to let you win.” Rainbow Dash felt herself grinning at Trixie’s answer. She tried not to, but she couldn’t resist it. Trixie looked even more confused by it, and even a little creeped out. “Alright then! How about this? I’ll get you some food for the next few days that I’m here, and you eat that entire orange right now!” “Trixie already told you-” “Hear me out!” Rainbow interrupted, her grin still on her face. “You let me do that, and in return, I’ll help you put on a show!” “… Eh?” “You just need one good show, right? One show to make everypony forget the ursa minor, and start to build up your reputation again.” “… Yes. But with all the hecklers-” “That’s where I come in!” Rainbow Dash announced. “I’ll advertise your show around Baltimare for you, and then keep all the troublemakers away! All you have to do is perform, which you can’t do on an empty stomach, so eat up already!” Trixie still looked sceptical. “Again, why should Trixie trust you?” “… Because I never gave up, either,” Rainbow answered. “Despite everypony being against me, there was one who believed in me, and always had my back. That one was all I needed to pick myself off the ground, and I’m sure it’s what you need, too.” “Until you suddenly turn on me,” Trixie said under her breath. She felt a hoof under her chin, and felt her head being raised. Suddenly, she was looking into a pair of stern purple eyes. “I’ve never betrayed anypony, and I’m not about to start now.” Trixie gulped as she saw the fiery look in Rainbow’s eyes. She still didn’t trust Rainbow Dash. She had no reason to trust her. All she really knew about the Pegasus was that she was an arrogant show-off, like herself. But, they way that she spoke, and the look in her eyes as she assured Trixie that she wouldn’t betray her… “… Very well then,” Trixie finally said, after a long moment of silence that she spent simply staring into the Pegasus’ eyes. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will leave it in your hooves, then. But be warned, that if you incur her wrath, you will not get off so easily.” “Consider me warned,” Rainbow said as she released Trixie, and took a step back, her serious look replaced with a smile. “Now, eat up! I’ve gotta go make a stop somewhere, and then I’ll be back later tonight with some dinner for ya, and we’ll discuss our game plan!” Trixie looked at the orange being offered to her once more and, with a sigh, took it into her hoof. “Very well. Just… don’t make me regret this, okay?” she said, trailing off into a mumble as she said that last part. Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head nervously, and turned to leave. “Uh, just to let you know… I think it’s cool that you refuse to give up.” “… Well, we seem to have that in common,” Trixie said, and for just a brief moment, Rainbow was sure that she saw a smile cross her lips. “But when you have nothing to lose, you realise that giving up isn’t really an option.” “… Then, I’ll catch ya later,” Rainbow said as she left the trailer, and then flapped her wings to take off into the sky. As she made her way through the streets of Baltimare, she couldn’t help but wonder what was going through her head as she made that deal with Trixie. ‘It’s too late now, Dash. You said you’d help, you can’t just go back on your word now…’ With a sigh, Rainbow started to descend down to the ground, near to her father’s antique shop. “Maybe it’s cause she looked so helpless and pathetic…” Rainbow recalled how Trixie’s mane and coat didn’t look anywhere near as shiny as they did before, and the way her ribs showed through her skin, and how her flanks had lost their prior curvature- Rainbow’s thoughts halted there, and she blushed as she found herself analysing each and every part of the showmare. The shape of her hips, the way she looked when she drew that cocky smile, how she looked cuter with the hat on than without… “Heya kid!” Spectrum said as she walked into his store, catching Rainbow by surprise and causing her to jump. “Uh, you okay?” “Just fine!” Rainbow said, hiding her face as she pushed all thoughts of Trixie to one side. “You, uh… You just surprised me, that’s all!” Spectrum tilted his head and looked around. “I… do work here, don’t I? Oh dear, am I losing my mind already?” he asked, putting on a fake old stallion’s voice that made Rainbow Dash laugh. “Next thing I know you’ll be putting me in a home!” Rainbow shook her head as she approached her father, before leaning forward to give him a hug. “Nah! You’re not quite there yet!” The two parted after a few seconds. “So, you made any progress with that mare from the café down the street?” “You mean Lavender?” Spectrum asked. Rainbow nodded and gave her father a coy grin. “How long ‘til I have to start calling her ‘mum’?” Spectrum laughed and raised a hoof to his daughter’s head, roughing up her mane and causing her to back away quickly. “Sorry kid, but I don’t think I’m quite ready to tie the knot again just yet.” “But, you two are great together!” Rainbow Dash protested. “I’ve seen the way she makes you smile. Only mum could do better than that! And besides…” Rainbow grinned again as she walked over to her father’s counter and sat herself down on it. “I really think you should get married now. Like, before my birthday comes up.” “You’ll still get the same amount of presents either way,” Spectrum told his daughter, causing her to frown and let out a mock whine. “Anyway, if either of us should be worrying about finding a partner, it should be you. You’re not exactly getting any younger, and I’m starting to worry I’ll never get to meet my grandkids.” “Dad!” Rainbow Dash shouted, hopping off of the store’s counter and giving her father an un-amused stare. “Hey, don’t blame me! I’ve got to play the part for your mother as well as myself.” Clearing his throat, Spectrum continued. “Now honey, I’m sure she’ll find a partner when she’s ready. But dear, look at her! It’s time she settled down! Hey, don’t forget that I was her age when I found you.” Rainbow’s laughter cut the stallion off, and he joined her soon afterwards. After a full minute of laughter, the two finally began to settle down, and Spectrum walked over to a nearby cabinet where a coffee pot was resting. “But seriously though, is there somepony in your life I should be giving the ‘father talk’ to yet?” “Not yet,” Rainbow Dash said, walking over to help her father with the coffee. This was perhaps the only time she was willing to drink the stuff, if only because she had pestered her father in the past to cut down on the alcohol. “Really? Not even that Lightning Dust girl you told me about?” “Pfft, please,” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. “I mean, she’s cool an’ all, but she’s been on my back ever since I became Lead Pony and she got demoted to Wingpony. Anyway, I don’t think she’s looking to settle down either.” “Oh?” “Well, just a guess, since she seems to have a new marefriend every week.” Spectrum whistled and switched the coffee machine on. It began to clunk and grind, filling the store with a noise that neither pony was sure it should make. Still, they knew next to nothing about preparing coffee, so they just assumed that was the way it was meant to be. “So, she’s a player then. Sounds like somepony I used to know, back when you were just a teenager…” Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head. “Yeah, okay. So I used to hit on lots of ponies too.” “A bit of an understatement,” Spectrum said. “I tell you, that year, your mother would not stop worrying about you the entire time. I even had to talk her out of hiring a private eye to follow you around.” “For real?” Rainbow Dash asked, receiving a nod from her father. “Well, I’m not the same as back then. And I’m not just gonna settle down with just anypony.” “And I’m thankful for that,” Spectrum said, extending a wing around his daughter’s back and pulling her closer towards him. As he expected, she made a gagging expression with her face and ‘tried’ to pull away, only to ‘reluctantly’ give up and accept her father’s affectionate hug. “You just go at your own pace, Dash. Like I always said, it’s not enough to be fast. You’ve gotta make pit stops along the way, and really take in your surroundings.” “Yeah… Spitfire tells me that all the time,” Rainbow Dash said, before glancing up at the clock and feeling like she was forgetting something. ‘Oh, right! Trixie!’ Rainbow wondered to herself for a moment how she was going to go about this. She had already made arrangements to spend some time with her dad, but she couldn’t just leave Trixie after finally convincing her to go along with that deal of hers. Not only would it be uncool, but she would be leaving the mare to starve with no food left. “Something wrong?” Spectrum asked as the coffee machine began to quiet down, telling him that it was done. “You have that look like you’re doing homework.” “Oh, har, har,” Rainbow Dash said, walking over to a cupboard to retrieve two coffee mugs. “It’s just… well, listen, I’m gonna be here for a few days, right?” Spectrum nodded as his daughter walked back over to him. “So, would it… be okay if I have dinner with a friend tonight?” Referring to Trixie as a friend made Rainbow Dash want to gag, but it was certainly an easier way to explain the situation to him than going into all the little details about how the showmare really was. “A friend? You mean Gilda?” Spectrum asked, causing Rainbow to gasp and back away. “W-What? Why would it be… I-I already told you, we’re not friends anymore!” “Oh, sorry!” Spectrum said quickly. “It’s just, the look in your eyes kinda made me think… So, you two are still fighting, huh?” For a moment, Spectrum was really hoping that the two had put their differences behind them and made up. After all, they had been such good friends before, and it hurt the stallion whenever he saw the look in his daughter’s eyes when she talked about the griffon. “… Anyway,” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the awkward silence that had formed between them, “This is just somepony I haven’t seen in a while, who I just happened to… bump into… in town. I kinda made dinner plans with her without thinking, so-” “It’s okay,” Spectrum said with a smile. “Dash, you visit me so often, and like you said, we’ll be spending the next few days together. If it’s a friend you haven’t seen for a while, you should go and spend some time with them.” Rainbow Dash was taken aback, but recovered moments later and gave her father a smile as she handed over the two coffee mugs to him. “Wow, you’re truly the most awesome dad ever!” Spectrum chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “Well, I try, y’know?” “Right, I’ll make it to you tomorrow, okay?” Spectrum handed over one of the mugs, now filled with nice warm coffee, to his daughter. “Just be back by sundown, you hear?” “I’m not a kid! I’ll stay out as long as I want!” Rainbow shouted with a glare, holding it for as long as she could… before both ponies broke out into laughter once more, almost dropping their coffee mugs in the process. Trixie grumbled as she heard the sound of something knocking against wood. She stirred a little in her sleep, rolling around off of her sleeping bag and onto the many papers covering the floor. The knocking returned, and she instinctively reached for her pillow to cover her head. When she couldn’t find it, the sleeping showmare finally awoke and open her eyes. “Hey! You in there or what?!” Trixie turned her head towards her trailer door and simply stared at it for a few seconds. After some moments of thought, she realised that the voice belonged to the Pegasus who had visited her earlier. “What?” she asked, quickly followed by a yawn as she rubbed her eye. “Uh, I said I’d be back with dinner, remember?” Trixie’s stomach growled at the mention of food, and she hoped that the Pegasus didn’t hear that outside. “C’mon, open up already!” “… One second.” Trixie closed her eyes and focussed her magic. The orange from earlier had given her enough strength to cast a little magic without it hurting her too much. She cast a simple sensory spell to see how many ponies were outside. When she found that there was only the one, she cancelled the spell and used her magic to unlock her door. “Come in.” The door opened and Rainbow Dash walking inside, carrying a plastic bag in her mouth. She dropped it on the floor and jumped a little as she heard the door slam shut behind her. “… So…” “So…” Trixie looked over at the plastic bag. “What’ve you got?” Rainbow opened up the bag and spilled the contents. “I noticed you don’t have a microwave or anything, so I brought one over and got some cups of instant noodles at the store. And look, they’re still sealed, so no poison,” she added with a grin, which made the showmare frown. “We’ll see. You’re taste-testing everything Trixie eats.” “Darn it!” Rainbow Dash shouted, hitting the floor with her hoof. When she noticed the glare being sent her way, she sighed and flapped her wings once. “A joke! Can’t you lighten up a bit?” “… A year of having enemies all around you tends to make one trade in their sense of humour for a sense of danger,” Trixie said, reaching towards the microwave and plugging it into a wall socket. She hadn’t used electrical appliances in a long time, so her trailer’s battery was still mostly full. “However, if you wanted to attack Trixie you would have done so by now. Trixie doubts you’re so stupid as to miss such an opportunity and give her a chance to flee.” “Right, so stop being so paranoid already! I just wanna help you get back on your hooves, and show those jerks you’re not out yet!” Rainbow’s eyebrow raised as she noticed all of the papers littering the floor of the trailer. She reached down and picked one of them up. “What’s this?” “Fliers,” Trixie answered as she placed one of the cups of noodles into the microwave. “Since Trixie had nothing better to do, she decided to draw up some of the fliers that will advertise her upcoming performance.” “Uh… Well, that’s good and all, but… I never said I’d be performing with you,” Rainbow Dash said, turning the flier around and pointing a hoof at the part that showed a crudely drawn picture of herself, with the words ‘RAINBOW DASH’ written below it. “But of course you will,” Trixie said. “What, did you think you’d dress up in some suit with a pair of shades and throw away anypony who tried to make a scene?” “Well, not exactly like that…” “Whilst it is a good idea, it only work if Trixie has the vast majority of the crowd already on her side anyway. No, we’re going to have to be a little more sneaky if we want to keep the crowd from booing Trixie off right from the get-go.” “And that means me performing with you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Against Trixie,” Trixie answered with a grin. “At least, that’s how it will start off. Ponies will come to watch you challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie, expecting you to show her up quickly and give everypony a good laugh! They’ll watch as Trixie does not give up, and puts up a valiant fight. Soon, they’ll forget their original reasons for coming and will simply marvel at the spectacular show that you and I put on, and with that we can start to meld our performances together, putting on a combined aerial and magic show the likes of which Equestria has never seen! And then-” Trixie stopped as she noticed the Pegasus staring at her with an amused look on her face. “What?” “You’ve… really thought about this, haven’t you?” Trixie flicked her mane. “Well, performing is Trixie’s speciality.” Rainbow Dash let out a laugh, but stifled it quickly. “Sorry, it’s just, you were so insistent on me leaving you alone earlier and not letting anypony help you out. Why the sudden change of heart?” Trixie’s face reddened as she suddenly realised how talkative she had just been. “W-Well, Trixie can just see that you’re not a threat, that’s all! If you’re really fine with spending your time with Trixie, then who am I to stop you?” “Just one problem, though,” Rainbow Dash said, moving her hoof down to the date written on the paper. “This says that you’ll be performing tomorrow.” Trixie nodded. “The sooner the better.” Rainbow Dash sighed and shook her head. “You’re gonna perform when you’re hungry, and dirty, and…” Rainbow raised her head and sniffed the air around her. “… Smell really bad?” Trixie’s blush intensified, but this time it was accompanied by a heated glare. “Well, what would you have Trixie do?” “Uh, it’s called a bath? You’ve heard of it, right?” Trixie huffed and turned her head away. “The only bathing that Trixie has done this past year has been in lakes and the like. If she’s lucky, she may find herself with access to shampoo. The one exception was the short time Trixie spent in Ponyville, of course.” Rainbow Dash thought back to that particular event, remembering how she had forced Rarity and Fluttershy to wash her body, whilst she forced Spike to give her a massage. “Huh. When you put it that way, I can kinda see why you were like that…” “That was the amulet!” Trixie shouted, startling Rainbow Dash. Trixie quickly turned her gaze to the floor. “… Well, even if Trixie wasn’t corrupted, with that kind of power, it would have been hard to pass up such luxury after a year of… this.” Rainbow looked at the down showmare who was now staring at the floor in complete and utter silence. Rainbow Dash was never really a very huggy pony, and only made special exceptions with her closest friends, and even then, only on super special occasions. However, right now, she found herself wanting to just move in and comfort Trixie by wrapping her wings around her. She quickly shook that thought away and mentally slapped herself. ‘What the hay am I thinking?! Why would I want to do that for somepony like her?!’ “Anyway,” Trixie said, raising her head back up, “A bath will not help Trixie any, so-” “Alright, then here’s what we’ll do!” Rainbow Dash interrupted, much to the annoyance of the other mare. “The show will take place the day after tomorrow! No, make that two days after tomorrow. That gives ponies a little more notice. Not to mention gives me time to actually learn the routine you have planned.” “… Fair point,” Trixie said. “And tomorrow, the two of us are gonna go down to the spa together! I’m not really a fan of that stuff, but since you don’t have a bathtub here it’ll have to do.” “Wait, don’t you have a bathtub?” Rainbow Dash, for reasons beyond her, found herself giving Trixie a sly grin. “Oh? You wanna come ‘round mine and use soak in my tub?” A moment later, Rainbow’s eyes widened. ‘W-Why am I making such stupid jokes?’ “Well, it would be cheaper,” Trixie said, causing Rainbow Dash to sigh at the fact that she apparently missed the teasing tone in her voice. “Uh, yeah, but…” Rainbow tired to think of an excuse as to why she couldn’t use the bathtub at her father’s house. Then real reason was that she felt embarrassed to bring the showmare over, which then triggered the question in her mind: why was she so embarrassed with the idea of letting Trixie meet her father? Regardless, she just was, so she tried to come up with an excuse off of the top of her head. “Uh… Roaches! Yep, got a real bad… roach… problem, right now…” “Oh. Is that so?” Trixie asked. “Y-Yeah. Sure is.” Trixie nodded, and Rainbow Dash sighed. “So, yeah. I’ll come visit you around three in the afternoon, and we’ll go to the spa to get you washed and looking presentable.” “The Great and Powerful Trixie always looks presentab-” “And you hat and cape, too,” Rainbow Dash interjected, grinning as she saw Trixie pouting before her. “Do not interrupt the Great and Powerfu-” “Gotta find somepony to fix ‘em up a little bit. We want you to look your best during your show.” “Stop interrupting Trixie!” Trixie shouted, causing Rainbow Dash to laugh once more. “Stop laughing at once!” Rainbow’s laughter continued for a full minute, with Trixie fuming at first, and then slowly calming down as she finally decided to start up the microwave as she waited. “Done now?” Trixie asked as the Pegasus slowed to a stop. “For now,” Rainbow Dash replied. “So, that’s our game plan!” Trixie sighed and opened the microwave door as the timer hit zero. “Well, Trixie is hardly going to say ‘no’ to a free bath. Even if it is with a ruffian tomboy like you.” “Great, so it’s a date then!” Rainbow Dash said, although as soon as she did she found herself blushing at her own words. She saw that Trixie was also blushing, and they both averted their eyes from each other and sat in silence, save for the sound of Trixie fiddling with her chopsticks in her magic. “Uh… S-So, we should get to work on correcting these fliers, then.” “Yeah… But first…” Trixie levitated her noodles and chopsticks over to Rainbow Dash, who gave her a confused look for a second. “Taste-test,” she reminded her, earning an exasperated sigh from the Pegasus. “I already ate on the way here,” Rainbow Dash said as she saw the chopsticks move into the cup and pull out some noodles. “You should have thought about that before trying poison Trixie,” Trixie said with a grin. “I’m not trying to-” Rainbow Dash started, but stopped herself when she realised that there was no way out of it. “Fine, whatever. Let’s just get this over with so we can start work on correcting these fliers.” Trixie used her magic to feed the noodles to Rainbow Dash. Whilst Trixie didn’t think much of it, Rainbow Dash found herself feeling embarrassed at the thought of the showmare feeding her, and thanked the stars that nopony was around to see her. “See? No poison.” “Give it time,” Trixie said. “Some poisons take time to kick in, and you may have the antidote with you.” Rainbow Dash snapped at that. She tried to keep her cool, but now she felt that Trixie was just being ridiculous. “There’s no antidote! There’s no poison! Just. EAT!” After a few seconds of heavy breathing, Rainbow Dash shot Trixie a heated glare to show that she was serious. However, what she got in response was not what she was expecting. Trixie was grinning, and barely containing her laughter as she brought her noodles and chopsticks back over to herself. “A joke,” Trixie said, confusing Rainbow Dash even more. “Grow a sense of humour, won’t you?” Rainbow wasn’t sure how to react to that. What to say, what to do, or what to think. She saw Trixie eating the noodles with a huge smile on her face. They were just cheap noodles from a nearby convenience store, but they seemed to be giving the showmare so much joy. The sight made Rainbow Dash both smile, and feel bad. “Whatever,” the Pegasus mumbled to herself. “I’ll just help her out, and then I’m outta here…” She took one last look up at Trixie, and then back down at the fliers. ‘… After making sure this plan of hers works, that is.’