//------------------------------// // Search Party! // Story: The Power of Pride // by artimus //------------------------------// It had taken the two an extra half-hour to make their way back to the library as they both plodded their way along lazily, exhausted from the battle. Well, Twilight was plodding, anyway. Trixie appeared in perfect condition, insisting that she move at Twilight's pace to keep a close eye on her. "Trixie wouldn't want her own student being attacked before making it back!" Unbeknownst to Twilight however, it was all Trixie could do to keep her usual arrogant demeanor about her as Trixie was even more tired than Twilight, having spent most of her power on top of being tackled to the ground. After they made it back Twilight only took an hour or so to rest, leaving again that evening to Sugarcube Corner. The evening rush had just ended as Twilight walked past several ponies leaving the shop holding with their teeth bags of pastries. Twilight entered the store, immediately greeted by Pinkie's rump behind the counter. Looking around it, Twilight saw a poofy pink mane stuck in a crate that sat about knee-high. "Um…Hi, Pinkie." Twilight heard a muffled gasp as the pink pony quickly stuck her head up from the crate, turning her attention to Twilight. Before speaking, Pinkie ran her tongue over her face, licking off the icing that covered it. "Hi, Twilight! Want a cupcake?" Twilight often wondered how Sugarcube Corner managed to make a profit while Pinkie pilfered its stock like this. "No, no thanks, Pinkie. I just came to…" Before she could finish telling the earth pony why she was there, Twilight was interrupted by a loud, drawn-out gasp. "Twilight, what in Equestria happened to your flank?" "What?" Twilight was confuse at first, but as she looked at her flank, noticed a little blood had gathered. She must not have noticed the damage that first rock had done. "Oh, it's nothing, no big deal!" Twilight covered, not wanting to give away that she had been training with Trixie. The fewer ponies who knew about Trixie being there, the less drama there would be. She didn't exactly leave Ponyville on particularly friendly terms. Trixie had even asked her to not advertise her presence. "That's not nothing, silly! I know what that is!" Twilight prepared to debunk whatever claim Pinkie was about to make without fingering Trixie. "That's from a party, isn't it? Did you have a party without inviting me? Le gasp! How could you, Twilight?" Pinkie's eyes began to well with tears as she stuck her face in closer to Twilight's. "What? No, of course not! You know I'd never have a party without letting you know!" Well, not anymore, thought Twilght, remembering Pinkie's last birthday. "I promise, a bookcase had fallen over again and I was nicked by it, that's all," Twilight assured her. What kind of party ends with this sort of injury, anyway? Twilight thought to herself, a bit bothered by the possibilities of the kinds of parties Pinkie apparently attended. Pinkie Pie seemed to accept her explanation as her face went from sadness and desperation to confusing to an understanding smile, which grew brighter into her usual smile. "Okie-dokie-lokie! You should be careful, Twilight! Rough-horsing in the library isn't a very good idea," she warned cheerfully. "Yeah, right, thanks," Twilight chuckled nervously, relieved that Pinkie Pie accepted her explanation. "As I was saying, I came to see if you'd seen any new ponies around in Ponyville." "New ponies," Pinkie Pie repeated, bringing her hoof up to her chin, attempting to recall any new faces. "Well, I don't remember seeing anypony new, and you know me Twilight, I know every pony in Ponyville! If there's somepony new to see, I'd know it because I don't know them and if I didn't know them, I'd throw them a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, then you'd know because I would have invited you to it!" "O-Okay, so no pony new, thanks Pinkie!" Twilight attempted to calm Pinkie Pie, pushing her front hooves forward in a 'please don't worry about it' gesture. "Why do you ask, Twilight? Is Trixie looking for somepony?" "No, she—Wait, how do you know Trixie's here?" Twilight asked, shocked at Pinkie's knowledge. "I saw her behind the library doing magic!" "Wait, Pinkie Pie, I thought you said you hadn't seen any new ponies around?" "Well, duh, Trixie isn't a new pony, Twilight, we all know who she is!" Pinkie pointed this out as if it were obvious. "Um…Of course. So, why didn't you say anything if you knew she was there?" "Well, since Trixie was at the library, I figured you knew she was there. So I thought, 'why would Twilight hide Trixie's showing up?' and I came to the conclusion that you were planning a surprise party! But then you came in today and I thought you already had it and didn't invite me, but now—" "What, surprise party?" Twilight interrupted. "I'm not planning a surprise party! I just didn't say anything for Trixie's sake.” "Oooh! Then can I plan a surprise party? No wait, if you know I'm planning it, it won't be a surprise! I'm not planning a party, where’d ya get that idea, huh Twilight?" Pinkie now had her left eye squinted in suspicion at the purple unicorn. "Oh, Pinkie you don't need to go to all the trouble of a party," Twilight tried to convince her to give up her idea. "What?" Pinkie acted shocked. "Who said anything about a party? But if a pony WERE planning a party, what would the party guest want for her coming out party?" "Well, any kind of cake woul—wait, a WHAT party?" Twilight yelled incredulously. "Silly, what other reason would Trixie not want to tell any pony she was living with you! Oh, and congratulations Twilight!" Pinkie nudged Twilight with her elbow, giving the unicorn a wink. Twilight felt a familiar heat on her face as she raised her hoofs in denial. "No! No, you've got the wrong idea completely! We didn't want to tell any pony because we were afraid they'd still be upset with her after last time! We're not dating, no way! Not at all! No, sir!" Pinkie's beaming face dropped, becoming disappointed at the news. "Okie-dokie-lokie…" She spoke dejectedly. "Can I still plan a surprise party?" Twilight felt a bit bad for spoiling the pink pony's fun. She winked at Pinkie, "What party?" This was met with confusion. "A party for Trixie, of course!" Her confusion was exasperated as she watched Twilight bring her hoof to her face. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Twilight returned home for the second time that day. So, no new ponies other than Trixie have shown up. Then that must mean whoever attacked Winniana hasn't come by. Even if some pony had passed through, Pinkie would've known. Speaking of Trixie, what did Pinkie mean when she said she saw Trixie performing magic? Trixie had told me that she was meditating. Why would she lie about that? Immediately, the morning's events sprang to Twilight's mind. She thought that she had noticed something strange when she beat Trixie, like she was disappointed. But why would she be disappointed? Wasn't the whole point to see if I had gotten better? Then the realization hit her and a part of her felt bad for not having noticed before. Of course. She must still be attached to what happened last year. But if she wanted to become stronger, why didn't she just come to me? Oh, well, like her pride would have let her. That pony is so stubborn! Twilight made a mental note to confront Trixie later about her secret training. When Twilight arrived home, Spike was waiting for her. "Hey, Twilight! You got another letter from Princess Celestia." "Thanks, Spike," Twilight took the letter, looking around the room. "Hey, where's Trixie?" "Oh, I dunno. I saw her leave the library earlier, but she hasn't come back." Hmm, no doubt she's left to train by herself some more…Trixie… Twilight found herself becoming concerned for Trixie. She hoped the prideful unicorn wouldn't wear herself down. Shaking Trixie out of her mind, Twilight turned her attention to the new letter. My Dearest Student Twilight Sparkle, I promised to keep you updated on the Ursa Minor attack in Winniana. The town has spent the last week rebuilding, but even with help from most of the townsponies, repairs are slow-going. Only about half of the destroyed town has been reconstructed. The investigation has turned up new evidence: a piece of torn purple cloth near the Ursa Minor's cave. We have been able to make little out of it, so I've sent it to you. All we've gathered is that it's made of a particularly expensive silk, though it's not rare enough to narrow down more than 20 cities that sell the material. If you can determine anything from it, please don't hesitate to help the investigation. The smallest bit helps. Your mentor, Princess Celestia. "Oh! I almost forgot!" Spike ran upstairs and came back down several seconds later holding the purple cloth. Indeed, it did seem to have been torn from something. Twilight felt the cloth thoroughly and almost immediately felt her heart sink. "Oh, Spike…I know where this is from. I recognize it from feeling it earlier today. This is from Trixie's cape!" Twilight recalled seeing the cape's hole the other day. "Spike, I didn't want to believe it, but I think Trixie is the one who led the Ursa Minor into Winniana!" Twilight's sorrow turned into a feeling of betrayal quickly as her brow furrowed in anger. That Trixie…she used me as a way to hide! I can't believe her…I have to tell Princess Celestia. Twilight began to tell Spike to take a letter, but stopped as she opened her mouth. "Spike, have you noticed anything strange about Trixie?" "Strange? I think there's a lot strange about that pony. But I guess if you're asking if she's acting out of the ordinary…Oh! Just yesterday, when she came in late! I went downstairs to talk to her. I was afraid that one of you would get hurt in a fight, so I wanted to talk her out of it. But when I went to open the door, I heard her…" Spike paused. "Heard her what?" Twilight asked, leaning in out of suspense. "I think she was crying…" \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Trixie trotted confidently into her room, still laughing at Twilight's adorable shock at her challenge. That pony will never know what hit her! I'm far stronger than I was last time, taking care of her will be no problem for the Great and Powerful Trixie! She closed the door as she entered her room. No problem at all! Unless…Unless she can hit me with her shot magic…or throw me into a tree… Trixie's confidence began to shatter as she listed off more ways Twilight could possibly defeat her. As the list grew longer, Trixie felt a sobering reminder of just how truly afraid she was to challenge the pony. She had planned to take Twilight on eventually, but not after 3 days! No! Why am I concerned? I'm strong enough to stop any of those things from happening! I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! No pony can beat me! Nothing can beat me! Suddenly, she felt a pang of regret as she swallowed her words. Nothing but an…Oh…Oh, Celestia, what have I done? Trixie's cocky attitude broke. Even to herself, she could no longer boast her abilities. When placed in danger, Trixie had needed Twilight to save her. How…How can I say I'm so great and powerful when I need that pony to save me so much? At this, Trixie noticed that tears had begun falling from her eyes again. For the second time in 4 days, Trixie found herself unable to suppress her sobs to less than a quiet sound. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ "I don't know why, Twilight, but Trixie was crying, I'm sure of it! It's sounded just like when I…when I hear other ponies cry, is what!" Spike covered, averting his eyes and rubbing his neck. Twilight was too astonished at the idea of Trixie, the most boisterous, arrogant, sure-hoofed pony she'd known, even more than Rainbow Dash herself, breaking down in such a way to notice Spike's near confession. "Spike, let's hold off on writing back to the Princess. Maybe Trixie should have a chance to explain herself." It had better be a good explanation though, thought Twilight as her pity began to morph again.