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// FFAF #7-The Talk 
// Story: Ponywatching 
// by ThunderTempest 
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Trixie internally winced as the top of the door hit the bell, causing it to tinkle, and attracting the attention of the owner of the store. It may as well have been her death bell, with how her week was going so far.

“Just a minute!” called the melodious voice from within the shop, and Trixie fidgeted in the circular room, surrounded by ponyquins that seemed oddly imposing now. She knew she was being ridiculous and a bit paranoid, but that pink pony had thoroughly freaked her out yesterday. The sound of hooves on the wooden floor of the dress shop reached Trixie’s ears, and that voice began to speak again, as the white unicorn whose name currently escaped Trixie trotted into view.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and oh. It’s you,” said the unicorn, her voice falling flat as she saw Trixie, “Come with me, Trixie.” Trixie followed the dressmaker through the main floor of the shop and into the attached ground floor kitchen.

“Tea?” said Rarity, as Trixie nodded, and sat herself down at the table. “Now, you have undoubtably had a rough week. I have heard that Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie Pie have already given you the standard ‘Hurt our friend, and we hurt you’ speech.” A cup of tea, still steaming hot, was floated over and came to rest in front of Trixie.

“Trixie demands you get on with it, then. She has places to be,” said Trixie, stirring in a spoon of sugar to her tea, as Rarity sat down opposite Trixie.

“My ‘speech’ will be a little different, Trixie. You see, Twilight, though she will never admit it to you, has a crush, you might say, on me. She believes that she is in love with me, though it is very much a private belief of hers. It has made things terribly awkward sometimes, given little Spikey-Wikey’s feelings for me as well. Now, I do not reciprocate either of their feelings, but you should know this if you intend to date Twilight,” Rarity took a sip of her own cup of tea, and then continued on, “I am the mare that at least some of Twilight wants, Trixie. You are perhaps what she actually needs. Even if you two dating does not work out, Twilight needs an intellectual equal, and I wish all the best for the two of you. However, if you break her heart on purpose, Trixie Lulamoon,” Rarity’s horn lit up and grasped a wine glass that had been sitting on the bench, perhaps for this very conversation, floating it towards Rarity. The dressmaker’s magical field gripped the wine glass hard enough and shattered it into a thousand shiny sharp fragments.

“You will find that throughout my adventures as an Element Bearer, I picked up more than fashion inspiration,” said Rarity, the glass shards whirling around her, a miniature tornado of magic, glass and reflected light. Trixie could only watch on, shell-shocked by the pure venom in Rarity’s voice. And then, as fast as it had appeared, the mare’s demeanour changed, back to a cheerful manner, though Trixie could still see the hardness lurking in Rarity’s eyes.

“As you may have gathered, Trixie, we are rather protective of Twilight. She is still socially naive in so many ways, especially in things like matters of the heart.”

[TIME]

Trixie lifted her tea, and drank it. She barely tasted it as she drained the cup, placed it back on the saucer and stood up.

“If that is all, Trixie will take her leave now.” Without waiting for a reply, Trixie trotted out to the door, and exited the Boutique. Once outside, she bolted for the Golden Oaks library, the only thought in her head being ‘Twilight has some scary friends’.


Back in the boutique, Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin.

“I wonder if I laid it on a bit thick with the wine glass?” she mused aloud.

“Nah!” said Pinkie Pie, poking her head out of one of Rarity’s cupboards, “I thought that bit was fantastic!”