“Autistic? What’s that?” Fluttershy asked.
Trixie let out a long sigh, then walked away as Fluttershy followed. “It’s a neurodevelopmental disorder.”
Fluttershy nodded. “How does it present itself?”
Trixie shook her head. “It’s different in everypony that has it. As for Nixie, my sister, she speaks just fine, although she’s very literal minded. She doesn’t quite get puns or euphemisms. She also likes flapping her hooves and rocking her body when she’s nervous. She’s also obsessed with stacking objects, hates change, and has a routine she has to follow every day to the letter. She also loves trains.”
“Trains?”
Trixie shuddered. “Don’t ask. Oh yeah, there’s one more thing;she has no friends and has a lot of trouble making them.”
Fluttershy looked down, pondering. “Hmmm…”
“Yes?”
“Oh, nothing. Just sounds like somepony I know.”
“Well, anyway, we’re here,” Trixie said as she came to a stop in front of a two story building. Fluttershy looked up at it. It appeared to be rectangular in nature with no defining features. “Ready to go in?” Fluttershy nodded, and the two of them trotted in.
Inside was a purple unicorn writing on something. She looked up and smiled. “Hello, I’m Wisteria Cover! Are you the two sales reps here to see Eggshell Shadow?” Trixie and Fluttershy nodded in unison. Wisteria Cover smiled at them. “Well, then, why don’t you take a seat. Eggshell will be right with you,” she said as she motioned to a couple of chairs along the wall. Fluttershy and Trixie took their seats.
They sat in silence for a while. Fluttershy then leaned over to Trixie and whispered, “She kind of looks like Twilight with a black mane, doesn’t she?”
“I suppose so,” Trixie whispered back between gritted teeth. Trixie tapped her hooves in frustration while Fluttershy examined a photograph of mountains hanging on the wall from her seat. Wisteria then looked up.
“Eggshell Shadow will be seeing you now,” she said. Both ponies turned their heads towards Wisteria.
“How could you possibly know that?” Trixie asked.
Wisteria smiled while closing her eyes. “I just have a feeling. Now why don’t you go and see him?”
Fluttershy nodded and stood up, trotting towards the door. Trixie got up as well, staring at Wisteria while heading towards the door herself.
They stepped in to see a smiling white pegasus with a black mane sitting behind a desk with two chairs in front of it. “Hello, ladies.”
“Hello, Eggshell Shadow,” the girls replied in unison as they took their seats. Angel Bunny, who was safely nestled in one of Fluttershy’s saddlebags, started growling.
“Angel, hush!” Fluttershy hissed, which seemed to calm the furry monster down. “Sorry about that, Mr. Shadow.”
Eggshell chuckled. “No, that’s quite alright. Animals and I just don’t seem to agree.” He then pulled out two papers and handed them over to Fluttershy and Trixie, who read them over. “You’ll be hitting the Hoofington Brain Disease Center next.”
“Um...Eggshell?” Trixie asked.
“Yes?” Eggshell Shadow replied.
“I can’t participate in this next assignment due to a conflict of interest.”
Eggshell raised an eyebrow. “Is this about your sister Bernice?”
Trixie nodded. “Yes, this is about Nixie,” she said, eyeing down Eggshell at the same time. “How do you know about Nixie?”
Eggshell nodded. “We have full dossiers on all of our employees.”
Trixie nodded. “So you see why I can’t participate.”
Eggshell grinned. “But I’m sure you’ll show Fluttershy the way there, won’t you?”
Trixie uneasily nodded. “I...suppose so. And I guess as long as I’m there, I could go visit my sister.”
Fluttershy smiled at Trixie. “That would be nice...when was the last time you visited?”
Trixie cringed. “Three months ago.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she stood up. “Then we have to head over there!” she said, grabbing Trixie’s hoof and dragging her out.
“Hold on!” Trixie yelled as she was being dragged out.
Eggshell shook his head and chuckled. “Kids.”
----
Fluttershy and Trixie were standing outside of the Hoofington Brain Disease Center, eyeing it down for two completely unrelated reasons.
“You ready?” Fluttershy quavered.
“Ready if you are,” Trixie quavered back. With that, they both gulped and trotted inside. They were welcomed by a waiting room where a very familiar blue alicorn was reading the Hoofington Star. She looked up and smiled. Trixie immediately went into a deep bow while Fluttershy smiled and waved.
“Princess Luna!” Trixie said.
“Hi Princess Luna!” Fluttershy said.
“Hello, Fluttershy,” Luna said with a warm smile. She then dropped the smile as she faced Trixie. “You may rise, Beatrix.”
Trixie got up and gave the Princess the stink-eye. “That’s Trixie,” she said as she took a seat two seats away from Luna. Fluttershy trotted up to the desk.
“I’m here for the sales appointment,” she said to the receptionist. The receptionist, a blue pegasus mare with a teal mane, hoofed through the papers on her desk.
“Ah, yes...Transpicuous,” she said as she stood up, “if you’ll follow me, then.”
Fluttershy nodded and looked back at Trixie. Trixie waved and said, “Good luck, I know you can do it!” Fluttershy nodded uneasily, then followed the receptionist. Now it was just Trixie and the Princess of the Night. Trixie started sweating. Luna hoofed through the paper.
“Hmph,” Luna said, “apparently Transpicuous opened today at a hundred bits a share.”
“That’s nice,” Trixie said while fumbling with her saddlebags, “so how are you?”
Luna giggled. “I’m fine,” she said, “that was a rather impressive stunt you pulled four months ago.”
Trixie looked around. “What stunt?”
Luna chortled and flipped to another page. “The one where you stormed into my night court demanding a pardon,” she said, “and perfectly quoted exception ZHZ to law XJ6.”
Trixie giggled nervously. “Oh, right,” she said as she turned to look at Luna, “so, why are you here, anyway?”
Luna smiled as she put her paper down. “I’m here to admit a student into the Diarchy’s School for Gifted Unicorns.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. “The Diarchy’s?”
Luna nodded. “I successfully campaigned to get the name changed,” she said as a snicker escaped from her mouth, “and by campaign, I mean bribe my sister with cake.”
Trixie tittered at that. “That sounds like corruption.”
Luna smiled. “Indeed.”
A green unicorn stallion with a blue mane trotted in. “Princess Luna?”
Luna looked up to the unicorn. “Yes?”
“Nixie’s ready,” he said. He then looked at Trixie. “Is she coming as well?”
Trixie opened up her mouth to reply before she was cut off by Luna. “Yes, she will.” Luna then stood up, along with Trixie. Trixie’s mouth was silently moving as her eyes were wide open in shock. The green unicorn led Luna and Trixie down a few corridors to a door marked 115. The unicorn nodded and trotted away.
Luna looked at Trixie. “May I?”
Trixie nodded.”By all means.” Luna nodded, opened the door with her magic, trotted in, then closed the door behind her. Trixie stood there, hearing muffled noises coming from the room. The noises soon turned into crying followed by shushing. The crying slowly turned into screeching, then the door was blown off of its hinges by Luna flying through it as she slammed into the wall, Trixie staring in shock. Out of the room trotted a gold unicorn filly with a two-tone copper and silver mane and glowing eyes, tears streaming down her face.
“NO! I’m not going! I like it here!” the filly screeched.
Luna stared at Trixie. “You want to handle this?”
Trixie facehooved. She hoped Fluttershy was faring better.