The world was spinning for the young pegasus as Trader was bound to a board in the shape of a circle that was constantly rotating. Trixie stood on the far side of the stage as she eyed it closely, or as close as she could with the blindfold covering her face. Another frightened gasp escaped him as a knife flew in his direction, stabbing into the space just an inch away from his head. It was the fifth one and the mare still had two to go.
Around them, the audience that Trixie had acquired said not a word, every pony there completely awestruck as they watched the show. Yet again, another knife levitated into the air, the tip of it pointed directly at the stallion. Trader could only watch it in horror as he silently prayed, his heart racing.
Without a word, the blue unicorn flung the knife forward, hearing the audible thud as it stabbed into spinning platform, right between Trader's legs. If it wasn't for his white coat, he'd surely look pale, his entire body shaking like a leaf in a windstorm. But the audience only ate it up, mouths agape as barely any of them even blinked, not wanting to miss a thing. The pegasus was beginning to think they were actually hoping he'd get maimed.
As the last knife was raised, one could actually hear the crowd hold its breath. Trixie didn't throw it immediately, building the suspense as the tip pointed directly at the trapped stallion. Then, to end it all, the knife was sent flying. A collective gasp sounded off through the crowd as it reached Trader, a cry of fear and panic coming from him as it went through his mane, just barely missing his scalp.
With a smirk, Trixie removed her blindfold, looking her work over before turning to face the crowd. “Not a scratch on him!” she declared proudly, the crowd erupted into a chorus of cheers. Trader looked nearly catatonic as he stared blankly ahead in a thousand yard stare, trembling uncontrollably. It wasn't until the spinning board he was attached to vanished in a flash of magical light was he able to get back on all four hooves, standing beside the showpony as she gestured to him. “What a wonderful assistant, isn't he?”
Again the crowd cheered, snapping the stallion out of his trance, just in time to hear Trixie's next act. “Now, for my next trick, I will need to summon the Tank of Silence!” Making a show of waving her forelegs in the air, a magical puff of smoke exploded on the stage. As it dissipated, a large rectangular tank was left in its place, four walls of glass contained the water that filled the entirety of it.
Trader gaped at the sight of it, his heart beginning to pound again as he remembered the horror of what she had planned, not wanting anything to do with it. “No way,” he quickly said, glaring at the mare. “I am not doing this!” Making a move to jump off the stage, he was stopped as he felt a thick rope coil itself around his midsection. Before he could even make another move, he was yanked into the air and dangled over the waters surface. As he was about to tell the unicorn off, Trixie merely smiled at him before she plunged him into the tank, feeling the sharp impact as he broke through into the depths.
Alone as she walked through the streets, all Applejack had with her were her own thoughts. Having quickly noticed that her friend hadn't followed her, it filled her with a small sense of bitter sadness, thinking he'd rather watch Trixie's show more than anything else. It was made worse as her mind wandered toward the history the two had, piecing together much of it herself.
Though she was in search of a place she could grab a bite, she was too preoccupied to look in any attentive way. But eventually, luck seemed on her side as she ran into a large cart vendor that seemed to sell simple foods. Just the thought of a dandelion sandwich made the mare's stomach growl a little, forcing her to head toward it. Sadly, there was a rather long line of waiting ponies, forcing her to follow their lead.
The line moved as slow as one would expect, the spot left open whenever the pony at the front moved quickly being replaced in a monotonous cycle. Standing idle for so long, it forced Applejack to think on things that were happening, slowly realizing that she was just angry at a lot of things. She was angry at Trader for reasons she wasn't fully certain of, angry at Trixie for simply being there, she was even angry at her cousin Braeburn just for so readily assuming that she and Trader were a couple.
Just the thought of the idea seemed so outrageous to her. They were certainly good friends, even compared to Twilight and the others. Trader was a sweet, kind and caring stallion, who worked as hard as anypony could, but she just couldn't fathom what else could be there. They just seemed too different when one got down to it.
Though he was a big help on the farm, Applejack wasn't about to assume he was there for any other reason other than he had to. With so little options, he had to take up such laborious work, only staying now out of a sense of being indebted to them for sorting out his business with that griffon. Without that, she was certain he'd be off somewhere else, living it up in a city or traveling around like he once did, not staying by her side.
After all, Applejack was just a simple earth pony from the humble Ponyville. She had no higher ambitions than tending the farm, doing what her family has done for generations, not that she regretted any of it, but she knew it wasn't much of a lifestyle for a stallion like Trader. Past experience taught her that, knowing of his tastes for more excitable company. If the marveled and famed Spitfire was any indication, his eyes wandered elsewhere.
Even Trixie seemed shockingly right for him, as Applejack could easily remember Trader's theatrical performance while they sold their wares. A traveling showpony seemed almost perfect for him, even if she was as horrid as the silvery-manned unicorn Applejack knew of. Compared to that, how would a mundane mare like her compete, not that she wanted to. But such things did make it odd for someone to assume they were anything more than just friends.
“You orderin' somethin', Miss?”
Startled, Applejack looked up to see that she was at the front of the line, standing before the vender who was waiting impatiently to hear what she wanted. “Oh, uh... never mind,” she said before quickly relinquishing her place, suddenly not feeling hungry anymore.
Trotting away, Applejack suddenly felt the crushing pang of bitterness she had felt before, just a short time ago after watching the sunset with Trader. She tried shaking it away, but the feeling remained, making her sick to her stomach. She began to wonder if it was now just regret for what she did before, or more specifically, what she didn't say.
Realizing how foolish she was, the mare gave a steadying sigh as she silently told herself that she'd sit down and chat with her good pegasus friend. She didn't like feeling so confused about things so often, figuring out who many of them were directed to. But before she did that, she wanted to get ready for it.
Trader stumbled back behind Trixie's wagon. His coat, mane and tail were sopping wet and the soaked dress he still wore clung tightly to his body. Nearby, the roaring cheers of the crowd could be heard as they applauded the magical mare, stamping their hooves happily. The pegasus ignored it as he tried gasping for air, choking on his own inhale as, at the same time, he began coughing up the water that was sloshing about in his stomach and lungs.
More water spilled across the stone ground as his coughing fit lasted for quite a while. He had to lean against a forlorn bench that was close by to keep himself from collapsing, or slipping on the expanding puddle he was creating. He didn't even notice the dying sounds of the dispersing crowd ahead, not until the sparkling red dress suddenly vanished from his person and a towel wrapped itself around his head.
“What a marvelous show,” Trixie declared, joining the stallion. With her magic, she shook the towel around the pegasus' head and down his body, drying him off while leaving him a damp and disheveled mess. “It's so wonderful to be cheered for again. Of course, it's only fitting for them to praise the Great Trixie for her amazing feats.”
Trader only managed a scoff as he continued to cough up the remaining water inside of him. “I can't believe you still have that stupid tank,” he managed to say.
“Oh, but you were so capable,” the mare remarked. “I had almost forgotten how wonderful of an assistant you are. It seems like such a shame we had to part ways so long ago.”
Trader couldn't help but face the unicorn with a glare. “Part ways? Is that what you call it? Me waking up to realize that you had abandoned me in Trottingham?! Sweet Celest- I swear, I'm still debating on whether I should hate you or not!”
“Such harsh words,” Trixie cooed, stepping closer to him. “I felt it was something we both needed. And it was so hard to bare those cold, lonely nights without my stallion helper with me...” Trader took an immediate step back, keeping his distance from the unicorn. “It's not like things have been easy for me either, Trader. Nearly losing everything after those incidents in Ponyville... Though, I see you've been fortunate... Helping that earth pony with her needs, in more ways then one I'm sure.”
“Wh-what?” Trader murmured, surprised by the sudden accusation.
“Come now,” the mare pressed, moving closer yet again. “How is it that such a simple, ordinary mare like her is what caught your eye?”
The pegasus again tried to step back, each time Trixie tried going forward. Soon, he found his flank bumping into the bench he had steadied himself on, stopping him. “N-no...” he tried saying, shaking his head furiously. “She's not- We aren't... I wouldn't, not in a million years.... I mean, we're just friends...”
Half-lidded gaze directed at the stallion, Trixie was as close as she could be, continuing by leaning toward him. “And... are we friends?” Trader couldn't even answer, feeling a magical grip dig into the nape of his neck before suddenly being jerked forward, right into the mare's waiting lips.
As they kissed, a chill ran up the stallion's spine, the cold nighttime wind lapping at his damp body. When the magical hold on him subsided, he quickly pulled away from the soft touch of her lips on his own, looking at her in astonished confusion. “Why did you...” he tried to say, but as he looked at her he noticed that her own gaze wasn't directed at him. Turning, his breath was caught as his eyes fell on Applejack, standing there just as still as he was.
Her eyes were wide, mouth hung open just slightly, unable to look away from the pair. Then, she just turned away, showing her back to them as she began to abruptly walk away.
“A-Applejack, wait!” Trader called, running after her, unable to stop shaking, feeling the cold wind blowing all the more fierce. “Please, listen. I-I can explain!”
“You don't have to explain nothin',” she said, her voice as freezing as the air around them. “It ain't none of my business who you choose to gallivant around with. Even if it's her. Especially not some simple earth pony like me.”
“What?! N-no, Applejack, I didn't mean-”
“Ah guess Ah just expected better from you.” Trader stood there, recoiling as though he had just been struck. He couldn't say a word, barely even able to breathe as a painful, crushing grip wrapped itself around his very heart. All he could do was watch as Applejack continued to walk away, not even sparing a moment to look back. It was there that he noticed how different his friend was.
Applejack's hat and the red ties she wore were gone, exposing her mane as it spilled out across her neck and shoulders. Even more surprising was how tidy it looked, as though she had actually ran a brush through it. She looked quite lovely in Trader's eyes, like she was preparing for something important. But the pegasus couldn't dwell on it, still feeling the sinking guilt as she disappeared.
“Awful moody, isn't she?” Trixie said crassly.
Jaw clenching, Trader whirled around to face her. “What is the matter with you?!” he snapped.
The unicorn didn't look phased in the slightest, her expression showing very little care. “It's nothing personal, Trader,” she replied with a dismissive wave of her hoof “Those two idiot twins just wanted me to rattle her cage a bit. Come see me again whenever you can though, your company is still enjoyable, even for the Great Trixie.”
“What...” the stallion questioned, confusion dominating his features. But he shook such feelings away, growling angrily to himself before darting off in the same direction as Applejack, leaving the unicorn behind.
Trader searched and searched for his friend, galloping and flying across the town. Despite there still being a number of ponies out at such a late hour, he couldn't find a single trace of her. Eventually, after burning away a substantial amount of moonlight, the pegasus managed to find the inn they were staying at. Giving up, he decided to head back to his room, being surprised when he found the door locked.
It seemed obvious enough where Applejack was at that point. Knowing that a simple knock would be all he needed to get in, the stallion still made no move to do so. It was late, he was certain that the mare had long gone to sleep, not wanting to wake her. He was also certain that she wouldn't want to see him anyway.
Heaving a soul-quaking sigh, Trader rest his head against the nearby wall. “Why... Why would she be so mad at me anyway?” he asked aloud, clueless. “Why should she even care? And... why does it still hurt that she does?” A deep, empty sensation in the pit of his chest remained there, the stallion unable to shake it away. Abandoning the locked door, he made his way out the inn, vying to sleep outside for the night.