//------------------------------// // Chapter 23 // Story: The Adventures of Trixie if Her Father Was a Badass Alien // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// The ocean liner, Titanic, while brand spanking new, wasn’t fancy and clean everywhere aboard. The lower Trixie went into the depths of the hull, the plainer, darker, and dirtier it got. She walked along quickly, her cape billowing out behind her. The faster pace might have made Trixie seem a little reckless, but she was covering more of the dim passageways in a shorter amount of time. The quicker she found Starburst, the better. It was a little bit of a reverse of Trixie’s earlier way of thinking. While she might have the whole cruise to track down the other mare, it still seemed prudent to get her task done sooner rather than later. Trixie did not want Starburst to be the one finding her. The ponies to be found on the lower decks were all a little poorer than those above. They had less fancy attire, less clothing in general, and the cutie marks were more mundane. Trixie in her purple hat and cape stuck out a little. Maybe that would help lure Starburst to her. There was ample time to think about Starburst now. Trixie decided that it was probably best to search her memory for any clues that might help. She reviewed what she knew about the struggling showmare, hoping that something might stick out. As it was, only more unanswered questions presented themselves. Back in Ponyville, when the two of them had been close to actually having a magic duel only to be interrupted by a booster from Valiant’s rocket crashing down, Starburst had mentioned that she was looking for something. Trixie wasn’t sure if it was an object or, like the showbusiness, something more intangible. Either way, she seemed to think Trixie knew where it was. There was also the mystery of why male Starburst in the other universe wasn’t crazy, instead just being merely gay. Trixie continued deeper into the ship, walking by the coal storage bunker and feeling the warmth of the boilers that fed on the fuel. It was louder down here, and the fires that kept up steam pressure burned brightly. Glancing to the side, Trixie paused in surprise. She thought she recognized one of the engine room ponies. She walked closer. Sure enough, it was Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was smudged with grease and coal dust, and there was a sailor cap perched on her head. She picked up a scoop of coal with a shovel and put it in the boiler, catching sight of Trixie as she turned. Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, hi Trixie. What are you doing here?” “I’m sailing across the ocean to see the other side. Meanwhile, I’m trying to track down that mare named Starburst so I can give her what she has coming.” Trixie arched an eyebrow. “And what are you doing here, Fluttershy?” “Well, everypony knows that I’m good with animals, but like a lot of ponies I have a few secondary talents, too. One of them is sewing. Applejack says I have a freaky knowledge of it.” Fluttershy paused to gesture at the boiler. “As it turns out, I’m also pretty good at shoveling coal. Once, when we were riding a train to Canterlot for the National Dessert Competition, I thought about going up to the engine to help out the engineers when I needed an alibi for something I did.” Trixie couldn’t imagine what Fluttershy could have possibly done to warrant an alibi, but was impressed by her friend’s hidden talents anyway. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you to that,” said Trixie. “We should hang out later, though." "I'd like that." Fluttershy nodded and smiled. Trixie turned to go, but stopped. "Oh, one more thing, have you seen Starburst?” Fluttershy shook her head. “No, but I hope you find her.” “Thanks, so do I.” Trixie left the boiler room. It was unfortunate that the short conversation had slightly distracted Trixie. She wasn’t prepared with a first strike when she ran into Starburst on the next deck. Starburst was her usual self, which is to say unattractively attired and messily tattooed. Trixie threw back her cape, pulling out the switchblade and flicking it open. Starburst fell into a defensive stance, her eyes on the blade. Her look was more of interest than tactical caution, however. For some reason, that put Trixie on edge. “Why are you here?” Trixie asked. Starburst didn’t have to reply, but it would be nice to have at least one nagging question resolved. “I go wherever I want,” replied Starburst, still watching the switchblade. “Happily, I keep meeting up with you.” There was no way to tell if she was lying, but her story sounded like merely coincidence that kept bringing the two of them together. Trixie didn’t want to believe that, but stranger things had happened. All the more reason to kill her. “I’ll tell you what,” said Starburst, still not looking Trixie in the eye. “I want to make a trade. You give me that knife, and I’ll do my best to stay out of your way. I’ll even give up on the idea of dueling you out of your showbiz swag.” It was a tempting offer, Trixie had to admit. She might feel a little bad about giving away something that belonged to Valiant. He might be angry if he - when he came back. More importantly, however, why was Starburst so interested in the switchblade? It wasn’t a super decorated fancy weapon. Valiant had made it himself, although Trixie wasn’t aware of exactly when and how. It was quite durable as evidenced by Valiant’s various shenanigans with it, including falling from the sky to cut King Sombra in half lengthwise. Other than that, Trixie was unaware of anything that made the switchblade special, or why Starburst wanted it. And that worried her. “I have a counter offer,” Trixie proposed. “Come closer.”