“I knew you were crazy, Trix, but this takes the cake.”
Trixie frowned at Amethyst from across the table, her breakfast cake completely untouched while her old friend wolfed down three servings of the stuff. After ascertaining that she was free to leave the castle and tour Canterlot, Trixie had gone first thing in the morning to find Amethyst at the hotel. Now they sat together at an outdoor café that boasted a magnificent view of the surrounding countryside. Trixie had just finished telling Amethyst all about her late-night encounter with Twilight, and her friend’s response was far from ideal.
“This is not a joke, Ammy.”
“Twilight Sparkle?” Amethyst stuffed another bite of cake into her mouth. “Fe thame Tviwight Phperkle who beath you?”
“Yes,” Trixie snarled, “that Twilight Sparkle.”
Amethyst swallowed her cake. “The same Twilight who stuffed your tail down your throat and rolled your butt out of town like a carriage wheel? The same Twilight who filled your wagon with pony manure to demonstrate how full of it you were? The same—”
“Yes!” Trixie slammed her hooves on the table so hard it shook, ignoring the disapproving glances of her fellow patrons. “That Twilight! Can we please stop talking about what she did and focus on what happened last night?”
Amethyst didn’t seem at all interested in Trixie’s anger. “You had a dream. Big deal.”
“It wasn’t a dream.” Trixie gestured to the key and parchment on the table. “If it was a dream, why would Trixie have these things which Twilight gave her?”
“Maybe they were already in your room and you didn’t notice,” Amethyst pointed out before taking another bite of cake. “Or mebbee Lunuh refth ith ash a hintsh abouf who yooll be fighfin.”
Trixie rested her cheek atop her hoof and glowered at her old friend. “Trixie wonders if you’ll ever develop table manners. It was too vivid to be a dream, Ammy, and if you’d seen her… I don’t think I could imagine that kind of—”
“Duffle goffa!” A piece of cake floated up to touch her nose, Amethyst grinning around her mouthful.
Trixie scowled and touched her muzzle, revealing bits of chocolate and oats. “Ammy, that’s gross!”
Amethyst swallowed her food and licked her lips with a wicked grin. “I could always lick it off for ya.”
“No thank you.” Trixie used magic to wipe a napkin across her face.
“Seems pretty simple to me,” Amethyst announced. “You still hate Twilight, right?”
“She terrifies me.”
“So the dream was all about her, the mare who humiliated you, coming to you for help. It’s just another way of you wishing to be better than her. Gotcha again, by the way.” Amethyst lifted her empty plate and began licking chocolate off it, earning her rude glances from nearby diners.
Trixie stared down at the key and parchment for some time. Maybe Amethyst was right. Maybe it had been a dream. If so, Trixie would have to mark it down as one of the strangest dreams she’d ever had. She hated Twilight for beating her, but had refused to let the defeat stay in her mind. Letting Twilight occupy her mind was like acknowledging an obsession.
Besides, even if she hated Twilight, she would never have wished such pain on her. She closed her eyes and saw an image of that hideous pit where a horn should have been. Trixie touched her own horn, quivering at the idea that it might not be there next time she checked. “She was such a horrible sight.”
“That, right there.” Amethyst set her 'clean' plate down. “That’s a big reason I say you had a dream. Think about it. Twilight Sparkle is Princess Celestia’s personal protégé. Her’s is a household name. Don’t you think if somepony beat her and ruined her in the way you described somepony would have said something? The papers would have been going nuts for weeks.”
Trixie had to admit, Amethyst’s point did sound logical. “Trixie just feels like it was so much more than a mere dream,” she confessed, casting a forlorn glance into the street.
Amethyst closed her eyes and sighed as she brought a hoof to her head. Opening them after a moment, she offered, “You know, you do have a room right next to the Princess of the Night.”
Trixie wildly shook her head, Twilight’s warning still fresh in her mind. “No! Trixie will speak to nopony of this dream.”
“You told me about it.”
“Because Trixie trusts you to keep quiet.”
Amethyst slapped a hoof over her heart, gushing with sarcasm. “I’m so touched!”
Trixie scowled. “I’m serious, Ammy.” She raised a hoof, blocking her friend’s attempt to touch her muzzle. “Tell nopony!”
Amethyst pouted and crossed her hooves. “Spoilsport.” But she cheered up quickly. “Alright, I’ll agree to keep my yap shut.”
Trixie studied her, feeling no small amount of worry; she knew that smile. “Trixie desires to know the condition.”
“Talk to Princess Luna.” Her friend nabbed Trixie’s cake from across the table. “Tell her you want me along for the next fight.”
Trixie recoiled with wide eyes. She was so surprised she forgot to note that Amethyst was eating her cake! “You… want to join Trixie? Really?”
Amethyst nodded, her chin covered in chocolate as she grinned. “I wanna see you fight some of these ponies.”
“If Trixie recalls correctly, don't you have a job?”
Amethyst swallowed the last mouthful of cake before answering. “I’ve got two weeks of vacation coming up. Might as well spend it watching you get your rump kicked.”
Trixie scowled and tossed a napkin in her friend’s face. “You just got off vacation.”
Amethyst used the napkin to clean herself of chocolate before leaning back with hooves behind her head. “Can I help it if my mining business earns me more money than I know what to do with? The girls can take care of things for a while, that’s what I pay them for. So will ya do it?”
Trixie considered the situation. Having Amethyst around wasn’t something she relished. The pony would only prove a distraction and her method of encouragement was hardly… 'encouraging.' On the other hoof, she wasn’t convinced that last night had been a dream and Twilight’s warning still had her on edge. Having Amethyst around was worth it, right?
“Alright, Ammy, Trixie will try.”
“Of course you will,” her friend declared, face smug. “Without my good cheer and emotional support, you’d probably break down before the first kick.” She ignored Trixie’s frown as she changed subjects. “So has Luna told you anything about who you’ll be fighting next?”
Trixie rested her cheek in her hoof once again, staring at her now-empty plate. “No. Trixie thinks Luna is avoiding her, or at least making her wait.”
“Makes sense,” Amethyst said, winking at their waiter as he began clearing away their plates. “If I were a princess I’d make everypony wait on me too. I’d make you wait double time.”
“Thanks,” Trixie answered with a huff.
“Speaking of waiting, I suggest you head back to the castle or something. I have other things to do besides spending all day with you.” Amethyst leaned forward to whisper, a wicked grin on her lips. “That waiter of ours is gonna be meeting me in the bathroom in the next five minutes to pick up his tip. I doubt you wanna wait around for that.”
Trixie frowned in disgust and stood up from the table, the key and paper floating into her pouch. “Trixie hopes he reports you for voyeurism.”
Amethyst waved a dismissive hoof. “Come now, Trix! Nopony can resist me.
“Besides, voyeurism isn’t a crime in Canterlot.”
It was an hour after sunset, and Trixie paced back and forth in her room. Mr. Stone – Nye, as he preferred to be called – was shuffling cards at the table by the window. “Come on, Trixie, play another game with me.”
She didn’t stop pacing. “Do you not have work to do somewhere?”
“Luna said to stick with you for a while,” he replied with a charming smile. “Stop pacing, you’ll wear a hole in the floor.”
“Why hasn’t she come?” Trixie's eyes went to the door for the hundredth time. “She can’t ignore Trixie forever.”
Nye shrugged. “She has to talk with Celestia. They have a meeting every day.”
“Trixie doesn’t believe it.” Trixie turned to him at last to properly show her skepticism. “Everypony knows that Luna is co-ruler in name only. What would Luna need to know?”
Nye stopped shuffling, a frown coming upon his lips. “Luna could rule Equestria if given the chance. She has her loyal followers.”
“Other than you?” Trixie took some delight in his glare.
“Don’t take your anger out on me,” he countered. “Luna will get here when she gets here.”
Trixie sneered and jerked her head away. “She’s avoiding Trixie.”
“She’s a busy pony.”
She turned away and resumed pacing, grumbling at the floor. For some time the two remained silent. She could feel his eyes upon her, and after a few minutes cast a glare his way. “What?”
He was leaning forward and studying her with curious eyes. “Why did you come after Luna?”
“Trixie has already told you why,” she snapped, going back to her pacing. “She challenged Trixie!”
“Yes, yes, I learned that last night. But why did you accept?” She paused, her train of thought lost at this new question. He pressed on before she could recover: “You don’t know Luna. If you’d ignored her like most ponies you’d have probably never seen her again. What made you think you had to come to Canterlot and meet her?”
It was such a direct question. She wanted to answer it. She opened her mouth, but the words were lost. Her anger faded to uncertainty as she thought. “It’s… Trixie… wanted to meet the challenge. It’s a matter of pride.”
His eyebrows rose. “Pride? Is that the only reason?”
She hesitated. “You imply Trixie's reason is poor?”
“It is a poor reason,” he told her, though his voice was quiet. “I don’t think you understand. The ponies you’ll be facing are vicious. They won’t be following any rules. Some of them will be out to spill your blood, and you’re doing this just for pride?”
“Trixie didn’t want to do this! Trixie only wanted to face Luna’s dreams for herself. It’s not Trixie’s fault it led to some pointless gladiatorial contest!”
“It’s not pointless!” Nye stood to glare daggers. “You can’t possibly understand what’s at stake. Luna doesn’t like this any more than you do. You think she wants you to fight?”
Trixie returned his glare with full force. “If she didn’t, Trixie wouldn’t be here.”
“Listen, you arrogant—”
“Enough.” Trixie and Nye turned sharply to the sound of Luna’s voice. The princess entered the room with flowing grace, head held high as she observed the two of them from over her muzzle. “Nye, would you grant me a moment alone with Miss Lulamoon?” Nye – face still flushed – bowed and made his way out without so much as a glance at Trixie.
“So,” Luna said once the door had closed, “pride, is it?”
“Yes.” Trixie stood firm before her, prepared to defend the statement.
Luna observed Trixie, her eyelids lowered studiously. “And what will you do?”
“Do?”
“Should you succeed,” Luna pressed. “What will you gain from defeating my former lovers?”
That, at least, was easy to answer. “Respect. Trixie will at last show everypony that she is as Great and Powerful as she claims!”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Self-promotion? Is that all this is to you?”
Trixie threw up her hooves in frustration. “Nopony will tell Trixie why she has to fight these ponies! How can Trixie have any other motive when she doesn’t understand the point of these fights in the first place?”
Luna set a hoof to her chin, considering Trixie’s question. “You know, that may be the first truly good point you’ve made since we met.”
Trixie heaved a sigh. “Does that mean you’ll finally tell Trixie why I’m doing this instead of just facing your dreams?”
“No.” Luna ignored Trixie’s glare. “I cannot tell you anything about that, Trixie, not until I feel I can trust you. To be frank, you’ve given me no reason to.”
“Trixie hasn’t had a chance to try!"
“I suppose that is true,” Luna confessed. “Regardless, your evident flaws provide room for hesitation.”
“Flaws?” Trixie bared her teeth and let out a vicious snarl. “What flaws? Trixie has no flaws!”
“Is that so?” The mockery in Luna's voice was like a slap in the face. “You’re arrogant, impatient, and need I point out your tendency to blindly rush in? You have no respect for authority. Not once have you bothered to bow to me or my sister!”
“Bow?” Trixie turned her muzzle up at the princess’ words. “The Great and Powerful Trixie bows to nopony.”
Luna stared at Trixie for several seconds, her lips set in a small frown of disapproval. “That behavior may just get you killed. Perhaps it’s a good thing; you’ll be out of my hooves.”
“Nye says you don’t even want Trixie to fight.” Trixie shot her a scathing glance. “What’s the matter, is Trixie so lowly to you that she is beneath your attention?”
At that Luna’s expression changed. She leaned forward a little, appearing uncertain, yet critical. “My… attention?”
Trixie stomped her hoof. “Yes, your attention! You’ve been avoiding Trixie, you will tell her nothing of what is going on and you expect her to fight for you? Maybe you don’t trust Trixie, but Trixie doesn’t trust you! Why should Trixie fight for anypony other than Trixie under these conditions?” Luna gazed at her ponderously, and Trixie could only stand before her huffing in frustration. All this anger was starting to give her a headache.
“You’re right, it’s a touch unfair.” Luna's voice and expression abruptly turned soft. “ No, Trixie, I don’t want you to fight for me. I don’t want anypony to fight for me. I’m tired of it. It has done nothing but hurt whoever gets involved. It will inevitably hurt you, too. So no, I don’t want you to fight, but in the end it’s not my decision.”
Trixie paused, not certain she’d heard that right. “What do you mean, ‘not your decision?’ Whose decision is it?”
Luna glanced away. “If you win, you’ll find out. For now, let it suffice that you must fight regardless of how either of us feel about it. Even if I could tell them not to fight you, they would.”
Trixie slumped to her haunches, rubbing her forehead with both hooves. “Trixie's head hurts from all this…”
The princess let out a weary sigh. With a small step forward, she rested the tip of her horn to Trixie’s. Trixie glanced up in surprise at the touch. Her eyes crossed as she observed the point of contact. Before she could respond she felt a warm sensation all over her body. It felt… good. Like a cozy fire on a snowy winter night, but deeper. More personal. She basked in it, for it was a feeling she’d not had in a very, very long time.
Then it was gone, just like that. She sagged in disappointment, staring up at Luna and wishing she might get that feeling back, if only for a moment.
The pain was gone. Trixie blinked and felt at her head. It was completely gone! Luna had healed her?
“I know you feel I am hiding things,” Luna told her, and her tone of regret drew Trixie’s attention. “I know it’s all confusing. But try to understand: I cannot ask just anypony to help me. My dream – my very personal, important goal – is not something lightly approached. I must know you can handle it and would be willing to risk everything for it. If you falter you will end up just like the others. I’m trying to avoid that, Trixie.”
Trixie was shocked by this seemingly legitimate moment of tenderness on the princess’ part. She considered Luna’s words carefully, and for some reason they seemed important. After several seconds she looked up and spoke, choosing her words and tone carefully. “Trixie is going to fight them anyway. How is fighting them for Trixie better than fighting them for you?”
Luna smiled. “Because it won’t hurt so badly if you lose. Therefore you might not end up like them.”
Trixie thought on this answer for a little longer, trying to judge Luna’s honesty. “Trixie does not understand but she would like to think that the Princess of the Night is true in her intentions. Can you at least promise to tell Trixie a little more after the next fight?”
Luna’s smile broadened slightly. “I think I can do that. If you should win, that is.”
“Trixie will win,” she declared, reaching up to tap her hat in a confident motion. Her hoof touched open air and she glanced at it in surprise. After a few seconds she let it drop to the floor and pouted; she really missed that hat. “When is Trixie supposed to fight again, anyway?”
Luna's voice grew firm once more. “Tomorrow night, a couple hours prior to sundown. Nye will fetch you and together we will take my carriage to meet your opponent.”
Trixie looked up, hat forgotten. “Good. Trixie looks forward to it.”
“Oh,” Luna said as if she’d forgotten something, “and you will need to give Nye the information on your friend Amethyst so that he can bring her to your room before we depart.”
Trixie blinked. “Ammy? How did you know Trixie wanted to bring her along?”
Luna smirked as she turned for the door. “I have a – let’s call him a friend – who is keeping an eye on you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must begin my duties as the guardian of dreams.”
“Wait,” Trixie called, “Trixie demands to know of this 'friend'! You're spying on her now?”
The door closed, leaving Trixie with a brief bout of paranoia.
The carriage landed in the grass of one of the castle’s many courtyards, a pair of burly-looking pegasi in golden armor guiding it. Luna sat on the dark, cushioned seats and gazed down upon Trixie, Amethyst and Nye with a regal bearing. “I am pleased with your early arrival,” she informed them, her authoritative tone nothing like the gentle voice Trixie had beheld the night before.
Amethyst hoof-pumped before heading for the carriage. “Oh yeah, riding in style with a princess! This is gonna be awesome.” She hopped into the carriage and leaned back with hooves behind her head. “What’s up?” she asked Luna with a pleased grin.
Luna leaned back from her. “Amethyst Star, I presume?”
“That’d be me,” she confirmed with a wave of her hoof. “Don’t mind Trixie, I’ll make sure she behaves.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “I see.” She turned her attention to Trixie. “Come, your second opponent awaits.”
Trixie glowered at her friend before heading for the carriage, but stopped when she realized she was alone. She glanced back to see that Nye remained behind with a melancholy expression. “You coming?”
“Not this time,” he replied. “I’ve got work to do here. You go on and try not to get yourself killed.”
Trixie frowned, not sure whether she approved of his form of encouragement. Then again, it was better than anything Amethyst would be offering. She turned back to the carriage and entered, poking Amethyst with her horn to make her shift closer to Luna. As soon as Trixie sat on the cushion Luna gave the order and the carriage rose into the sky.
Trixie braced herself against the sudden acceleration, wind whipping into her face. She gathered her cape to keep it from billowing in the air and glanced to her side. The castle was rapidly falling away; they were already beyond Canterlot and flying south. She sucked in a breath at the terrible height and shifted to press against Amethyst.
Amethyst chuckled even as she tensed against the rapid ascension. “If ya wanted to cuddle, ya coulda just said so.” Her smile might have fooled those with less experience, but Trixie could tell she was just as nervous.
A faint smile graced her lips, though her tone was as regal as ever. “I assume neither of you have flown before.”
“Only twice.” Amethyst tried to regain her earlier laid-back pose. “Long-distance client. Lots of fun. Can’t seem to get used to the takeoffs and landings, though.”
Trixie tried her best to relax, but the edge of the carriage seemed so dangerously close! “That’s two more flights than Trixie."
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Amethyst teased, wrapping a leg around Trixie’s shoulder. “Ammy’s gotcha.”
Trixie glared and pressed a threatening hoof under Amethyst’s chin. “You should be more respectful of the princess,” she hissed, trying to speak over the wind but low enough that Luna couldn’t overhear. “Why are you acting so… you around Luna when you were so terrified of Celestia?”
Amethyst’s face went hard. She glared at Trixie for a few seconds, then slowly leaned close to her. “I’ll let that question pass ‘cause you don’t know any better. Celestia is in the same territory as my time in Canterlot: taboo and off limits. Don’t ask me again.” With that she leaned back and grinned as if the moment of friction had never occurred.
Trixie wasn’t scared of Amethyst at the moment, but she had enough respect for her friend to hold back. She wasn’t quite finished, though. “Even so, would you stop acting like a fool in front of Luna? Trixie is trying to maintain a good standing.”
Amethyst’s grin broadened and she raised her voice. “Hey, hey, I think somepony’s got a crush.”
Luna cast a one-eyed glance first at Amethyst, then at Trixie, her deadpan gaze a silent question. Trixie only facehoofed.
“What, nothing?” Amethyst asked with that ever-present grin. “Come on, I’m trying to set you up here.”
Trixie turned away to watch the clouds roll by. “Ammy… just shut up.”
“You’re no fun.” Amethyst pouted and looked to Luna. “So how long is this flight gonna be?”
Trixie thought Luna might not respond, but after a few seconds she did. “Not long. We should arrive within the hour.”
Amethyst’s lips rose in a fresh grin as she leaned over to nudge Trixie in the shoulder. The contact made Trixie press against the seat, her fear of falling off still very strong. “Hey, Trix? You know what that means?”
“Trixie is trying to keep safe, if you don’t mind!”
“It means we’re heading somewhere you’re pretty familiar with.”
Confused, Trixie glanced around, but saw nothing but clouds and rolling plains beneath them. She wasn’t certain what her friend was getting at. With only a time and direction, how could she possibly guess their destination? She thought for a few seconds, trying to draw a map in her mind of the land around Canterlot. South… What was south?
When she finally realized where they were going, her face went pale. “Oh no…”
Amethyst’s grin grew. “That’s riiiiight.” She wrapped a leg around Trixie’s shoulder again.
“Ponyville.” Trixie sagged and covered her face with her hooves. “Please tell me we’re not going to Ponyville!”
“Gotcha.”
Luna glanced at them with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, as a matter of fact we are. Why? Is there something wrong with Ponyville?”
“Oh, she has history there,” Amethyst replied as she knuckled Trixie’s head. Trixie shoved her off and shot a deadly glare.
“I see.” Luna studied Trixie with curious eyes. “What kind of history?”
“She—”
“No!” Trixie went to crack her hoof against Amethyst’s head, but Amethyst raised a leg and blocked the attack with a grin. “Trixie does not want that kind of information shared! Let it be enough that it was a horrible experience and Trixie does not want to think of it.”
Amethyst leaned towards Luna, hoof raised to her lips as if to conceal her words. “I’ll tell ya all about it later.”
“You will not!”
Amethyst merely laughed and relaxed in her seat again.
The rest of the trip went fairly smoothly. Aside from Amethyst’s occasional attempts to scare Trixie into thinking she would fall out of the carriage, it also went peacefully. Luna in particular was very quiet, her gaze far away as she thought on things Trixie couldn’t imagine. Amethyst actually fell asleep after a while, leaving Trixie alone to brood.
Ponyville. She’d promised herself that she would never go back there. Yet Trixie realized she had a golden opportunity to learn some things. Twilight Sparkle lived in Ponyville. If she saw Twilight, it would prove beyond a doubt that Amethyst was right and her terrible meeting from the other night had been little more than a vivid dream.
Then again, what if Twilight was the one she was supposed to fight? That concept sent shivers down Trixie’s spine; of all the ponies in Equestria...
Curiosity and terror fell upon Trixie when the chariot began its descent into the orange-streaked skies. Ponyville appeared below, the town much like she remembered; peaceful, quiet and calm. Her eye caught the town's library, its coal-black stonework having been quarried from the nearby caves of Tartarus. It looked so different from everything around it, a tower that stood out like a boulder in a flower garden. Just the sight of it made Trixie shudder.
But the carriage flew by, leaving the tower behind. Trixie let out a deep sigh of relief and leaned back in her seat. So she wouldn’t be facing Twilight today. Maybe she never would. Maybe Amethyst was right and the parchment had been in her room all along. Whatever the case, she was thrilled to think that Twilight wasn’t one of her immediate problems.
“Here we are.” Luna gestured to the area before the carriage. Trixie leaned forward to find them descending towards a clearing in an orchard. She could make out a tall house, a collection of bunkhouses in the distance and a huge red barn. As they flew lower, she came to realize that the orchard was filled with apple trees.
When the carriage landed, a small army of ponies were waiting to cheer their arrival. “Well, aren’t we popular?” Amethyst asked with a grin.
Two unicorns approached, one a grey stallion with a black mane and the other an olive-yellow mare with a white, purple-streaked mane. They bowed deep before Luna as she got out of the carriage. “Princess Luna,” the stallion announced, “we are so very pleased to meet you! I am Jet Set and this is my wife, Upper Crust.”
Trixie and Amethyst went to stand side-by-side behind Luna, casting curious glances at the ponies around them. Trixie was quick to note that they were Earth ponies, every last one. They certainly looked happy to see them, but Trixie felt something off about their smiles.
“I’ve not been here in some time,” Luna noted, her tone regal once more. “I look forward to seeing how the property has fared since ownership changed hooves.”
“And we’re certain you will be very, very pleased,” Upper Crust announced. She and her husband stood aside and gestured to the barn behind them, where bright light spilled from the open door. “You and yours are always welcome at Sweet Apple Acres.”