"One extra big hayburger with additional cheese and mayo, no onions, no ketchup, on a dark bread; double large hayfries, no salt; and a diet pear cider. Will that be all, ma'am?"
"Yes, that is all Trixie requires."
"Would you like to get an additional chocolate crisp cookie for one bit?"
The showmare massaged her chin, humming. "Well, Trixie does need to watch out for her line."
The clerk rolled his eyes. "We have low calories, dark chocolate ones available."
Trixie beamed, having heard exactly what she needed to hear. "Then so be it!"
The cashier sighed, then punched the order on the register. "That'll be fourteen bits, ma'am."
Trixie gasped. "F-fourteen bits! For a burger with fries?"
"With cider and a cookie."
Trixie humpfed. "Well then, you should hope it's a delicious burger and fries, otherwise Trixie won't ever patronize this establishment again!" She went searching for her coin purse in her cloak, unaware of the amount of eye rolling that the clerk (and other costumers behind her) had committed. "Huh, let's see... where did Trixie put the..." she reached for her usual pocket, then another and another, until her eyes widened in panic. "N-no way, where is..." She double, then triple checked every nook and cranny of her attire, including looking under her wizard hat just in case, even taking of her cloak, cast a search spell or two, but... "Umm, it appears that the Great and Powerful Trixie, uh... didn't bring money with her?" She smiled sheepishly at the bemused cashier. A lot of growling could be heard from behind her.
"Sorry ma'am, no credit." The cashier said, taking the tray full of delicious, overpriced treats away. Trixie could only gasp and throw her hoof forward; unable to stop the inevitable as her stomach voiced his complaints in excruciating details. As she was about to do the unspeakable and reach for her universal solution (smoke bombs), a hoof slammed into the counter, making her and cashier jump.
"Here you go, fourteen bits." The smiling, white mare said, revealing some coins on the counter. "And three more for a medium caramel macchiato, please."
The cashier stopped to think, looking between the shocked showmare and a innocently smiling mare, whom he recognized as one of the usual clients. He shrugged and put the tray back on the counter, accepting the money. "Thank you for choosing Burger Princess, ma'am."
Trixie was at a loss of words, watching the cherry maned unicorn as she telekinetically grabbed her paper cup and levitated the tray before Trixie's eyes. "Here you go."
Trixie reluctantly grabbed the tray by her magic and stood silently in her place, looking at her food, smelling it's delightful aroma. She shook her head, pulling herself out of the trance to see the other mare, slowly walking away.
"T-Trixie will definitely pay you back!" That was the first thing she could mutter. She mentally berated herself for letting her pride take over again.
The white mare stopped and turned back, smiling brightly. "It's alright."
"Trixie is not a beggar!" She said, walking towards the now confused mare.
"I didn't..."
"Trixie just happened to leave her money in her other cloak, that's all!"
"It's okay, I believe you."
"Just... just wait a few moments and Trixie will go grab it, and..." she was stopped by a white hoof gently placed on her lips.
"Shush! We'll settle this later, but first," she made a small pause, just in time for Trixie's stomach to join the conversation again, making her blush "enjoy the meal." With that said, she pointed her hoof at the nearest table for two, already placing her coffee there. Trixie nodded, taking a seat opposite to her. The view and smell of her overpriced meal was driving her and her stomach mad, so she grabbed the burger in her hooves, unwrapped it halfway and was about to take a bite, before shaking her head. No! Behave! She swallowed, looking at the white unicorn, slowly sipping her coffee.
"Umm, excuse me, miss..."
The mare smiled ever so delightfully, letting out a charming, innocent giggle. "Moondancer." She said. "My name is Moondancer."
Trixie tried her best to hide her blush. She coughed. "R-right, Miss Moondancer. Trixie just wanted to say..." she swallowed again, sweat started pouring as she said the magical words.
"T-thank you."
Moondancer nodded. "You're welcome."
This was a good day. Saturdays were usually pleasant at the cafeteria in the academy's dorms. Since most students opted to eat outside, back home or not eat at all, it meant that all the best dishes were out for taking. Which usually meant trays full of hayfries, some fruits and more pudding than any sensible pony could eat. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer sat next to each other at an otherwise empty table, ready to dig in in peace and quiet.
In fact, it was too peaceful and too quiet. Something was missing.
"Hiya girls!"
And then Moondancer appeared, taking a seat opposite to her friends. The two didn't even bother rolling eyes anymore.
"Girls, hear this! I found the third one!" She happily announced. Her audience couldn't care less if they tried.
"I thought we told you we don't want to listen about your stupid threesomes anymore." Sunset said, crossing her hooves.
"What? No, it's not that!" She giggled, but then paused to think. "Well, actually that too, but fine, I'll skip the saucy news. I found the third!"
Sunset and Twilight looked at each other, shrugging, then back at Moondancer. Twilight asked. "Third what?"
"Not what, but who! I found a third Moonbutt!" She announced, grinning maniacally, almost jumping out of her seat. Her friends once again exchanged looks, then smiled sheepishly and nodded.
"That's... amazing?" Said Twilight.
Sunset shook her head and sighed. "Moon Sky has yet to recover from your last glomp and you already found another?"
"I know, right? I met her just yesterday at Burger Princess. She's a little shy at first, but once you get to know her, she's really nice. She's a street performer, just passing by Canterlot."
Nopony noticed that Sunset's eye twitched. It was a good thing she learned to never drink anything whenever Moondancer had her mouth open. "Street performer?" She asked.
"Yep. Her name is Beatrix Lulamoon."
Sunset raised an eyebrow. Is she talking about... no, no way!.
Twilight hummed, placing a hoof at her chin. "Beatrix Lulamoon? Where did I heard that name before?"
"Actually, Trixie prefers to be called 'The Great and Powerful Trixie'. Just Trixie will do." Said Trixie, swiping a hay fry from Twilight's tray.
"Oh, sure. Still, that name sounds rather familWHEN DID YOU GET HERE!?" She jumped, turning over her chair on the ground and pointing a hoof at the azure mare in wizard's garb sitting across her, next to Moondancer. Sunset Shimmer was taking a sip of her drink at this very unfortunate moment, which ended with what she was trying to avoid all along: spit taking and choking on her own soda.
The mare in question didn't have much of a reaction, nonchalantly chewing one hay fry after another. "You don't have to scream at Trixie's face. She can hear you just fine."
Twilight's eyes started twitching, as her mane was getting messier by the second. "But, you, this, how? When did you... how did you...?"
Trixie waved a hoof, eating another fry. "Please, a real magician doesn't reveal her secrets. Mmm, these fries are just as good as Trixie remembers them. Not like that junk food from yesterday."
Moondancer beamed with happiness. "Isn't she just amazing?"
Trixie waved a hoof at her, smiling smugly. "No, no, flattery won't be necessary." Pause. "But do tell them what you think of Trixie's wardrobe, if that's not a problem."
"Certainly! For starters, that hat..."
Sunset was very close to slamming her head over the wall and walking away, especially once Moondancer started naming every single thing that was amazing about Trixie's looks, from her wardrobe to her coat, beautiful curves and magnificently shiny mane. While Sunset couldn't quite argue with any of those points (she considered getting a fire version of that cloak and hat since their magic duel), hearing it made her want to puke inside. She could easily imagine Moondancer at a typewriter, pushing the "+1" button over and over again, gaining more and more Trixie points.
She never does that to me anymore, she thought. And for some reason, it made her even more angry. She shook her head and repressed the jealousy she didn't want to have and instead looked at what Twilight was up to. She was awfully quiet, even for her. With eyes narrowed, she observed Trixie carefully, as if trying to remember something crucial. Eventually, her eyes shot open, as she gasped and stood from her chair.
"IT WAS YOU!" Twilight yelled, pointing at confused and startled Trixie. "You were the trespasser in the library that night!"
Trixie looked to her sides, then smiled sheepishly. "Umm, Trixie has a reasonable explanation to this."
"You almost scared me to death! I thought it was somepony dangerous! Or a library ghost!" She ignored Sunset and Moondancer snorting. "W-what kind of pony sneaks into a library at night?"
Trixie blinked. "Trixie... needed to find a book?"
"It's a PUBLIC library!"
She blinked again. "So Trixie wasn't trespassing?"
"Yes, she was!" She lashed out, gathering a bit too much attention from other ponies in the cafeteria. "I mean, yes you were! It's closed at night!
"...then why were you...?"
"Not to mention," Twilight brutally interrupted her "you almost broke my skull!"
It was that last sentence which turned the sheepish, innocent look on Trixie's face into serious one. She stood up and put her hooves down on the table with a thud, silencing Twilight and making her sit down, intimidated. "Trixie will admit that she could have done that better. However..." Her face got a little too close for comfort, terrifying Twilight. "You did this to yourself! All while blindly chasing Trixie like a maniac in your zealous pursuit of twisted justice!"
Twilight was sweating like an interrogated, innocent mare. "But... you can't walk in library at night..."
"Be silent!" She interrupted her. "Trixie did nothing to suffer such punishment! She didn't steal or break anything, she was just reading books from the PUBLIC wing!"
"But... you ran away..?"
"Because Trixie was being blindly chased by a maniac in her zealous pursuit of twisted justice! And as for your poor, hurting head, you should be thanking Trixie that she didn't leave you there, bleeding to death! Trixie took her time to disinfect and bandage your precious skull before leaving, without even asking for gratitude."
Twilight was dumbstruck, unable to think of anything to say to counteract Trixie's charisma and confidence. She blushed a little, scratching the back of her head, as she looked away. "Umm, sorry and, uh, thank you...?"
Trixie hummed, then went back to her seat, swiping a cup of pudding from Twilight's tray (she still had three more). "As Trixie mentioned, she didn't ask for gratitude, but if you insist, she'll take it. You are most welcome." She then proceed to eat the stolen pudding with Twilight's only (unused) spoon. The purple mare didn't object, still too busy being flabbergasted, wondering what had just happened?
Meanwhile, Moondancer couldn't be happier that her old and new friends were already bonding (and apparently had met before, who knew?). She coughed and turned to Trixie. "Well, I might as well introduce you properly. The purple, confused one here is my foalhood friend, Twilight Sparkle."
"Charmed." Trixie said, wondering if taking another pudding would be pushing it.
"And the silent, but occasionally (and literally) volatile, one next to her is..." she said, before being interrupted by Trixie.
"Wait a second, Trixie recognizes you!" She pointed at the fiery maned mare. "You're the one who challenged Trixie back in Baltimare! You're... uh... well... uh..."
"Sunset Shimmer."
"Yes, that! Trixie was about to say it."
"No, you weren't. Because I never told you my name." Pause. "Which in hindsight was very rude, even by my standards."
Trixie touched her chin. "Huh, that WAS rude!" She snickered. "You fought Trixie for over an hour and never even bothered to introduce yourself?"
Sunset rolled her eyes. "You fought me for over an hour and you never bothered to ask?" She bent over the table to look Trixie in the eyes and the showmare did the same.
"It's not Trixie's fault she doesn't remember. If you don't feel the importance of your own name, why should Trixie?"
"And it's not MY fault the 'Small and Obnoxious Trixie' can't seem to grasp on how to speak in first person!"
"Hah! The Great and Powerful Trixie cares not for any limits, grammar included!"
"I can see your arrogance and pride knows no bounds either!"
A magical, illusory lightning started sparking in between the two growling mares.
"Thug!"
"Showoff!"
The two grit their teeth at each other for a moment, before turning away and getting back to their chairs, hooves crossed. Sunset smacked Trixie's hoof when she tried stealing her pudding from the plate. While Moondancer giggled at the pair, Twilight facehooved.
"Sweet Celestia, there's two of them!" As the two continued bickering (something about a rematch), she noticed Moondancer grinning at her. "What?"
"Oh, nothing." She turned her eyes away, only to come back. "You're jealous."
Twilight's face got covered in blush. "Wh-what? No, I'm not!"
"Sure you aren't. It's not like Sunset finally found somepony on her level, except just as competitive. Unlike somepony else I know."
"I told you, I'm not jealous!" She turned away, hooves crossed. "Just because they compete with each other, and have matching, egotistical personalities, and great ambitions, and great magical knowledge, and put a lot of emphasis on their looks, and brag a lot and... and... doesn't mean... I'm jealous! Cause I'm not!"
Moondancer decided not to tease poor little Twily anymore and went back to the two rivals, who at this point had officially ran out of insults.
Sunset turned to Moondancer. "Good luck with miss arrogance, Moondancer. I doubt she'll survive a single glomp with an ego as fragile as that!"
Trixie objected to that. "Hey, Trixie's ego isn't fragile!" Pause. "And what's a glomp?"
Moondancer snorted at the question. "She means tackle-hug-cuddle." Another pause, until a worried grimace entered her face. "You don't mind cuddling, do you?"
Surprisingly, Trixie waved a hoof. "Please, Trixie has numerous talents and she'll have you know that cuddling is among the first she ever mastered!"
Three pairs of eyes shot almost in unison. "Really?"
"Trixie has been practicing the fine art of, what you call it nowadays, 'glomping', since her early years on her darling."
"Darling?" The three asked in unison, two of which were in disbelief, but one voice practically squealed in delight.
"Indeed! Although Trixie had to swear an oath of restraint, at least until she finishes her glorious road towards becoming the most magical unicorn in Equestria. But considering that Trixie's progress has been steady recently, she's sure the time of their reunion will come upon shortly... though, to be perfectly honest, she has already visited him once and he is still the same, handsome and kind stallion she remembers him." Short pause. "Actually, Trixie takes that back- he's much more handsome!"
"Awwww!" Moondancer was about to melt at her place, just as Sunset was gagging and Twilight only blushed. She extended her hooves, ready to launch an assault on her new friend, but was stopped by her hoof.
"Nuh-uh, Trixie does not wish to be glomped..." she paused, while Moondancer could be seen deflating from emotion. But before her smile turned upside down, Trixie continued. "...in public. She has a reputation to uphold and she'd prefer not having anypony imagine Trixie being 'that kind' of mare." She explained. Moondancer (and the other two as well) raised an eyebrow, so Trixie quickly added. "Hugs later, only in private."
Moondancer's eyes and smile widened significantly. "R-really?"
She nodded. "Trixie prefers only to have the closest friends near her. And even though she met many kind souls on her journey, few opened Trixie's heart like you did yesterday, Moondancer."
"Awww!" Moondancer cooed again, then used all of her willpower to withhold the urge to jump at her, resulting in a simple, but heartwarming two hooves hoofshake between two unicorns. To think it costed her only 14 bits. Who said you can't buy friendship?
The other two mares watched the spectacle, eyes wide and twitching nervously, wondering what the heck were they looking at.
"Sweet Celestia, there's two of them!" Sunset muttered and Twilight nodded.
A few minutes of awkward silence and overblown friendship later, the twin doors to the cafeteria slammed open. A group of stallions, all dressed in matching black suits and shades, rushed inside. One of them pointed his hoof at Trixie and shouted.
"STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE, TRIXIE LULAMOON!"
Trixie rolled her eyes, annoyed. Sunset Shimmer recognized the group to be the same ones who interrupted their duel back in Baltimare. The one who shouted was the same pony that alerted them before. And just like last time, he was smacked in the back of the head.
"Will you stop doing that!"
"Every. Single. Time."
"Nice going, Beaten Bush!"
The gung-ho pony, apparently named Beaten Bush, smiled sheepishly and lowered his head, muttering something under his nose. Trixie in the meantime gently got up from her chair and reached inside her cloak for something.
"Well, Trixie had fun socializing with you, but this is her cue to leave!" As she pulled the small, round, black object out of her cloak, she still noticed Moondancer's disappointed face. "Don't cry over Trixie, fair Moondancer. We shall meet again!" And then, she threw the object at the floor.
CRACK!
Everything went silent for a moment. The crowd blinked, looking puzzled at the situation at hoof. But the one most confused out of the bunch, was the showmare herself. Still standing in the same place, she observed the floor, where her 'smoke bomb' cracked and left a few broken shells, mixed with white and yellow goo.
"Uh..." Trixie scratched her head. "Trixie meant to do that!" She reached for another smoke bomb and threw it at the ground, but the same thing happened.
"Need some help?" Sunset mockingly asked.
"Trixie got this..." She reached for another bomb, inspecting it instead. "...is what Trixie would like to say, but this isn't her stuff. Huh."
As Trixie looked over all her 'smoke bombs', the bounty hunters started laughing.
"Not so great without your old tricks, eh?" The leader of the pack asked.
Trixie's eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"
The bounty hunter shrugged. "Oh, not much. Somepony might have just sneaked into your cart and replaced all your smoke bombs with black dyed eggs! Try getting out now!" Then the group laughed maniacally, leaving a confused Trixie with a bunch of useless fake smoke bombs. Useless until dinner, that is, but she was already full of hayfries and pudding.
"Okay, Trixie will admit, this is actually pretty crafty, though why you didn't place a trap inside her cart is beyond her. Before Trixie escapes you, did anypony happened to find her lost Bright Star fireworks kit?" She asked the group, which at first only made them snort, but eventually they started talking between each other, mostly shrugging, but never quite taking their eyes off Trixie. "No? Drat! Trixie will have to assume they're lost."
Twilight coughed. "Shouldn't you be, I dunno, running away?"
"Trixie will do that, eventually. It didn't hurt to ask, especially now that she's out of her smoke bombs and Bright Star's powder happens to be a perfect quality for harmless, light and easy to assemble homemade smoke bombs."
"You're making your own smoke bombs?"
"They don't exactly sell them in shops. Not the quality Trixie desires, at least."
Twilight put a hoof to her chin and hummed. "If they're so important, how did you lose them?"
Trixie blushed. "Well, Trixie's cart isn't exactly the most spacious and roomy place. She has to travel light, so Trixie had to make a lot of compromises over the size and weight carried inside." Trixie hummed. "Now that Trixie thinks, she must've accidentally trashed it with the other junk she had lying around."
Twilight snorted. "The size or weight of your cart is not an excuse for the lack of proper management!"
"Hey! Trixie has amazing managing skills! Come and see her show to witness the awe and amazement that happens out there! Trixie will have you know that she spends hours before every single show to make sure everything is in its place!"
Twilight smiled slyly. "Oh really? And how long does it take you to prepare fireworks alone? I bet you go over your collection for hours straight, just trying to find that one little rocket you need for one stunt," she said, noticing Trixie sweat nervously "and I bet you run out of them more often than you admit?"
Trixie's eyes shifted. "Well, Trixie learned to improvise..."
"Unacceptable!" Twilight slammed her hoof on the table. "The mare that claims to be Great and Powerful needs to be better than that!" Twilight summoned a quill and scroll and started scribbling something. "It seems to me you have a desperate need for the most important tool of them all..."
Sunset and Moondancer slapped their faces. "Not again!"
"A checklist!" Twilight beamed proudly, levitating a scroll at Trixie, who inspected the list. "All you need to do is make a list of all the components you're using, assign a proper place for them at your cart and regularly check your inventory to make sure everything stays where it belongs. It's really easy once you get used to it."
Trixie hummed. "Trixie has to admit, this sounds like it would cut the preparation time significantly. What if Trixie made another list, sorted by manufacturers, shop lists and locations..."
"...so you could restock while on the road..."
"...and never run out at the worst possible moment!" Trixie beamed, as she started scribbling notes with her own quill. "That is brilliant! Trixie will use your idea, miss..." Pause.
"Twilight Sparkle."
"Trixie knew that!"
Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer and Moondancer looked with disbelief at the two bonding over... checklists?
"Sweet Celestia, there's two of them!" Moondancer muttered, with Sunset nodding.
Then, they heard coughing again. The leader of the bounty hunters tapped the floor with increasing intensity. "Are you two DONE? Can we go back to the whole 'we're taking you in' part already?"
Trixie rolled the scroll and hid it in her cloak, trying to think of a better escape plan. Light spell? Illusion clones of herself? The good old 'look behind you' trick? She had a lot of options, but most she already used before on these guys. She wasn't used to not having a universal solution at hoof. Thankfully, she found something else to fill that little void.
"Now wait here just a minute!" Moondancer said, approaching the group. "You can't just barge into the mare dorms and catch some innocent mare!" She paused, then turned to Trixie. "You're not a criminal, are you?" She didn't get a verbal answer, but the deadpan glare she received spoke for itself.
The bounty hunters, however, had a secret weapon. "That's what you think, little filly!" The leader took out a lanyard from his pocket. The 'visitor' lanyard, to be precise. The same one her male friends used all the time. "And we're taking her back home, so move away."
Moondancer had very little information about Trixie. In fact, she knew next to nothing about the showmare, aside from her being vain, quite arrogant and self centered. But she could relate to anypony who didn't want to go home. "Look, maybe we can strike a deal," she licked her lips and glared seductively at the group. At least two of the stallions blushed and turned away. Sadly, the leader wasn't one of them (neither was Beaten Bush, for that matter). "I know a nice place where we could get... comfortable."
She was close. The seduced stallions were about to accept, maybe even try to convince others to join in, but a swift smack to their heads, courtesy of their leader, brought them back to Equestria. He glared at Moondancer with an irritated glare. "Move outta the way!"
"Umm... how about..."
"I said, BEAT IT!" And then he proceed to shove her with his hoof, sending her a good few hooves away, until she smashed into a chair and fell down, moaning from pain.
The crowd gasped in terror. Trixie's eyes shot wide open and she grit her teeth. Her face went red from rage she felt towards those who dared to lay a hoof on her newest friend. Time for running was over, as she was about to tell them everything in (excruciating) detail. With her magic. And hooves. She stopped before making a single step, as two chairs loudly fell at the exact same time and two unicorn mares stood in front of the group. Trixie wanted to join, but something about the two mares told her to stay back. Even though they were turned away from her, she could feel the rage she, herself, never had before.
The bounty hunter leader snorted as he looked at the two angry mares. "Oh come on, not again!" He walked towards them. "Don't make me do it--UGH!" He stopped, as his nose smacked into something. He jumped back, massaging his nose, just barely noticing a transparent, purple wall of energy, separating both sides of the cafeteria. He saw the energy coming from the purple, angry unicorn.
Sunset Shimmer, standing right next to Twilight, turned towards Moondancer. "Moondancer, you okay?"
Moondancer got up, massaging her hurting hoof. "I've been worse, thank you."
Nodding, Sunset turned right back at the group of the hunters. "You hurt Moondancer."
"Actually, I'm quite alright..."
"Now, we'll pay you back," as she said that, her horn glowed for a second, before her entire body burst into flames, scaring the group "a thousand fold!" That said, her horn glowed once again, this time with a different spell, just in time for Twilight's barrier to disappear, as the purple mare herself started concentrating on a different spell. None of their horns were cold, if you wonder.
Meanwhile, Trixie was torn. On one hoof, this was a perfect time to run. On the other, they did hurt her new friend.
"Run Trixie! Run!" She heard Moondancer yell toward her.
Trixie hesitated. She swallowed, deciding that it was for the best. "Thank you, friends! Trixie will never forget you, Moondancer! And Twilight Sparkle! And Sunset Glimmer!"
"SHIMMER!"
Trixie shrugged. "Close enough." Then she rushed towards the window and jumped out of the room.
Faced with two angry mares in battle modes, the bounty hunters had only one thing left to say.
"...mommy..."
Their cries were muffled by the sound of flames and explosions.
Few hours later, after cleaning up the burned mess, sending some ponies to hospitals and/or therapists, gathering witnesses for a fair assessment of situation (i.e.: no charges were pressed and everything was considered an act of self defense), the trio finally went to their room when the sun was already switching places with the moon. As they were getting closer to their door, Moondancer stopped in place. A few steps after that, Twilight and Sunset finally noticed and turned to her.
"What is it, Moonie? Are you still hurt?" Twilight asked. Moondancer shook her head and looked at her two friends.
"I just wanted to thank you for today."
"It's okay, that's what friends are for." Twilight replied, smiling.
"Eh, I wanted to burn them anyway." Sunset shrugged.
Moondancer swallowed before saying. "You two know, that you're my best friends in the universe, right?"
Twilight and Sunset looked at each other. "Uh, thanks, but why bring it up now?"
"Just because I met Trixie, and Moon Sky, that doesn't change anything. There's no reason to get jealous."
The two once again exchanged awkward glares. "We're not jealous."
"Not even a little."
Moondancer nodded. "And there's no reason to be. I have more love in my heart than I know what to do with it." They rolled their eyes, unable to argue with that. "No matter how many Moonbutts I find, there's always two spots reserved for my two best friends in the entire world. And I can prove it!"
That made them both blush, though they would deny it later. The three of them stood on the corridors for a moment longer.
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what do you mean by pro--KYAA!"
"EEEP!"
Glomping ensued. Cuddles took place for a few minutes.
Few bones were broken.
They got better.