Chapter 8
“So…” Twilight began attempting to break the silence. However it was futile. No pony seemed the least bit comfortable enough to address the elephant in the room. Or in this case the blue-coated mare that was sitting next to the princess.
Everypony was gathered around the table in the castle dinning room. The room looked more homely since Rarity worked her magic on it. Banners now hung from the crystal windows and a bright shimmering chandelier floated in the air held only by a single rod. Light glistened off the gems and reflected back onto the windows creating rainbows of color across them. The beautiful decor did not serve to reduce the amount of awkwardness between the ponies.
Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash all glared at Trixie as they ate their hay salads. Fluttershy looked too nervous to touch her food and didn’t attempt to make eye contact with Trixie. The latter stared down at her bowl of soup and kept her gaze locked on the liquid. It stood still and her reflection stared back at her, her own gaze boring into her soul. Sunset Shimmer rested her elbow on the table as she levitated a fork full of salad and gave a breathless sigh.
Twilight frowned seeing no pony willing or in some cases mature enough to carry on the conversation. She could understand why her friends were still upset with Trixie, to a point. However right now she felt like a mother tending to children who were giving each other the silent treatment. While on one hoof actual mothers with multiple foals would praise Celestia if their children would do this and simply be quiet. But Twilight was not a mother and these aren’t her children. They are her friends and as the Princess of Friendship it’s her job to make sure all her friends get along. Right? It’s a lot harder than it sounds.
“So Rainbow, have you told Trixie about when you met Daring Do?” Twilight smiled at the cyan mare. If there was one thing she knew about Dash it was that she loved to boast.
“No.” Rainbow replied.
“Well why don’t you share?” Twilight nudged Trixie. “That was Rainbow Dash in Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny if you read it.”
Trixie’s ears perked up and she looked at Dash in a mix of shock and disbelief. “Wait that was you?”
“Yeah.”
“What was it like?” Trixie asked.
Rainbow Dash plopped a peace of lettuce and hay into her mouth and chewed slowly. “It was cool.”
Twilight leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Girls really we’re all friends here!”
“No we ain’t.” Applejack leaned back in her chair and tipped her stetson down. “I think I can speak for all of us when I say Trixie ain’t our friend.”
“Oh come on! All of you accepted Sunset Shimmer without a second thought and she actually tried to kill me!”
Sunset’s ears perked up and she glared at Twilight. “Thanks Twi.”
Twilight quickly turned at her and put her hooves up. “N-no that’s not what I meant Sun-“
“Ugh,” Sunset stood up. Summoning magic from her horn she grabbed everyone’s food and pulled it to the center of the table. “Look Twilight, they never had to deal with me so therefore your word was fine. But they dealt with Trixie therefore you can’t expect them to forgive and forget what she did so easily.”
Trixie sunk down in her chair and whimpered. She longed for her magician hat to pull over her head at the moment.
“But what happened with Trixie happened before you became an alicorn. Atleast a year or two have passed since then. I think you ponies, yes I’m talking to you three!” Sunset pointed an accusatory hoof at Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity. “Need to drop those glares and try having an normal conversation with this mare right here! First person to talk get’s there food back!”
The three looked at each other then Rainbow sighed. “Fine… so it was weird getting to meet Daring Do in real life. She didn’t want my help at first and wanted to work alone. Though it made sense, anytime I tried helping out I acted like an useless fanmare.”
Trixie looked up with a small glint of hope in her eyes. “Well who wouldn’t? It’s not often a storybook character comes to life before our eyes.”
“I know! But I’m me!” Rainbow’s voice grew louder, returning to her normal loud and adorably obnoxious pitch. “I’m not just some fanmare! I’m Rainbow Dash. After Ahuizotl got a hold of the last ring and put daring do in a death trap I swooped in and saved her before the piranhas got her.”
“Then you were able to destroy the pedestal the rings were on and the temple collapsed!” Trixie finished.
“Yeah! I was right there beside Daring Do taking off all the rings. I totally saved the world!” Dash puffed her chest out with pride.
Sunset telekinetically placed Rainbow’s hey salad back in front of her. Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Um I think ya’ll are forgetting the other seven times we’ve saved the world.”
“I didn’t think you could count that high Applejack.” Trixie laughed however quickly threw her hooves over her mouth. Her eyes went wide with realization at what words just left her lips.
“Trixie!” Twilight snapped. Cold stares fell on the mare and Applejack bit her lip holding back a retort.
“I-I’m sorry- I-” she tried to stammer but Rarity quickly took hold of the conversations direction.
“That is hardly appropriate Trixie! Applejack may be more of a brute rather than a scholar.” Rarity chided.
“Hey!” Applejack protested.
Rarity ignored her and kept going. “But that doesn’t call for insulting her.”
Trixie felt a pit form in her stomach. “It was an accident! It slipped out!” Sunset watched this play out and took down a mental note. The Trixie back in the human world never apologized for anything. She took what she wanted and could scheme her way out of almost any situation. During the Siren attack Trixie didn’t just fall under their control, she fed off their control and became worse than before. However here the pony Trixie was actually apologizing.
“Look I-I didn’t mean to-“ Trixie started again but Twilight had stepped out of her seat and taken Trixie’s hoof.
“Come with me Trixie, we need to talk.” As the two made their way out Sunset stared at the others. All sans Fluttershy had looks of aggression and disapproval. Even Rainbow Dash had deflated to her cold stare at Trixie as Twilight led her out of the room.
Sunset rubbed a hoof her forehead and proceeded to give each pony their food back. She sympathized with Trixie; this was just like during the battle of the bands for Sunset. Her wrong doings had been brought up and even after repenting the instant she seemed close to the edge she was berated for it. It was only after helping the group did they finally start to fully trust and accept her. She watched Trixie walk out of the room with a look of… pain?
Her shoulders were slouched and her head was hung low like a filly being escorted to his or her room for punishment. She knew Twilight wouldn’t be harsh on her thankfully. “You know as much as you call each other friends you have a crappy way of showing that same friendship to others.”
Each of them shot her a glare but she was not fazed. She had called them out in the other world for this and here was no exception. These ponies were the elements of harmony and the living embodiment of friendship. She knew them better, but from what she heard from Discord they had treated him the same way their treating Trixie. Are they only kind to others as long as they have not been wronged? Sunset knew that no pony was perfect but their track record was sporadic. Luna, Discord, Trixie, and herself were all treated differently even though they wronged these ponies in some way. Luna was immediately accepted, they were wary of Discord, they didn’t trust Trixie at all, and even though Sunset tried to kill Twilight and different versions of them they still accepted her at Twilight’s word. Why not now?
Trixie sat in the throne next to Twilight. She stared down at her hooves like a young mare in fear of looking up and seeing her parents disapproving stare. The throne room felt much larger than before. Her former rival sat adjacent to her looking at her as she had the past three times she had fallen. However the look came with added pressure it being from a princess of Equestria and not just a unicorn that had successfully outsmarted her.
“Trixie,” Twilight began.
“I’m sorry!” Trixie shouted cutting her off. “I didn’t mean to say that it slipped out!” Her voice was filled with desperation almost on the brink of choking.
“Trixie.”
“Please don’t throw me out on the street Twilight! I like it here please don’t send me away!”
“Trixie.”
“I don’t want to be left alone and I want to become better please just-“
“Trixie!” Twilight shouted over her. The mare sucked in her breath as she stopped talking. Twilight breathed slowly then cleared her throat and continued on. “I’m sorry for how the others reacted.”
“Wait… what huh?” Trixie looked at her dumbfounded.
“They did over react to a slip up and I will talk about this with them later.” Twilight finished.
Trixie’s jaw hung open slightly. “But… aren’t you mad?”
Twilight shook her head. “I’m not. I’m not pleased that you said that to Applejack and when we go back in I want you to apologize, calmly, to her.” Twilight put extra emphasis on the word calmly in her voice.
Trixie stared at the princess then stared back down at her hooves. She was speechless. The images of Twilight throwing her out of the palace were slowly fading from her mind. However she still couldn’t bring herself to willingly look at the princess. She felt soft feathers touch her back and she looked to her side and saw Twilight draping a wing over her shoulder.
“A key lesson of friendship is that everyone makes mistakes and says things they don’t mean. It comes down to our willingness to accept others for their faults if they are ready to move past them.” Twilight recited.
Trixie looked to Twilight who smiled at her. The smile was warm and gentle and made Trixie feel something inside. Something warm close to her heart. Here was the mare she had hated for so long taking her on as her mentor and now opening up to help her become a better pony.
“Thank you Twilight…” Trixie smiled.
“Look Trixie has wronged us not once but twice so ‘scuse my hesitance on letting her into this little gang we have here.” Applejack slammed her hat down on the table. The conversation had inevitably gone down hill and Sunset couldn’t catch a break. From first having to deal with her doubts about Trixie, to then having to defend the mare and receive flak for it. She couldn’t win on either side with this.
“You accepted me into the group!” Sunset shot back feeling her own tension getting tighter.
“That’s different!” Rainbow added.
“How the buck is this any different?!”
“You and Twilight are romantically involved darling, plus you saved her life.” Rarity finished.
There was a loud slap as Sunset’s hoof met her forehead. She wasn’t getting anywhere with this. During her time at Canterlot she encountered the idea that not all friends will like each other. She had made friends with a young athlete by the name of Lightning Dust. She had been Sunset’s lab partner and was clearly not adept to using volatile chemicals. Sunset took it upon herself out of kindness, and necessity to keep the chemistry lab from catching on fire, to take the brunt of the work but tutor Lightning Dust.
The two actually bonded over the experience and became good friends. However when she invited Lightning Dust to join her friends on a skiing trip she soon discovered that Lightning and Rainbow Dash had a bitter rivalry. It was safe to assume after that the trip was less than pleasant. The fun was replaced by the two constantly arguing and challenging each other. Though not challenging like a competitors grudge, instead it was a seething hatred the two had for each other. Sunset learned a valuable lesson on that day, it’s okay to make new friends but sometimes your other friends won’t get along with the new ones.
It’s a simple fact of life but in this case somepony needed to give. Trixie is technically Twilight’s student now and whether the other mares liked it or not, she was here to stay. Sunset slumped down into her chair and sighed this was going to take time unfortunately. The sound of hooves clopping against the floor pierced the silence and Sunset looked up to see Twilight and Trixie enter the room.
Trixie walked over to Applejack and stared her right in the eye. “Applejack… Trixie is… I mean I am sorry for my outburst at you. It was wrong of me to say that and I do hope you accept my apology.”
All eyes fell on the two and Applejack just stared at Trixie. Sunset could see the sincerity in Trixie’s eyes. This was a complete shift from the pony she and Twilight found in the streets of Manehattan the other day.
Applejack sighed and avoided Trixie’s gaze. “Stop your huffin’ about it. I’m not mad sugarcube.” Her voice was filled with venomous pride, it was a trick to sound like a pony didn’t care because it’s difficult to forgive and forget. In this case it was the pressure to forgive that Applejack didn’t want to give into.
But one thing did make both Sunset and Twilight smile, Applejack addressed her as sugarcube, that’s a name she only uses for ponies she likes. Trixie returned to her seat next to Twilight and resumed eating.
“So you’ve saved Equestria seven times?” Trixie said before silence overtook the room again.
“Ten of you count all three times Chrysalis has attacked, the nightmare taking over Rarity and when the we fought Anti-Celestia and Anti-Luna!” Pinkie Pie sprung up next to Rainbow.
“Fwah!?” The pegasus fell back in her seat. “Pinkie where have you been?”
Pinkie Pie blinked. “I was getting things ready!”
“Ready for what?” Twilight asked cautionsly.
Pinkie Pie giggled and pulled out a remote. “This!” She slammed her hoof down on the giant red button and the chandelier above them opened up revealing a dozen canons.
“Pinkie what the bu-“ Sunset shouted but was not able to finish her statement as all the canons went off at once causing a mass explosion cake batter. Time slowed down as the batter descended. What was supposed to be confetti, balloons and streamers was instead replaced by a mass of cake mix.
“Oh not agai- Pinkie whined before the batter made contact with the ponies. The once pristine room was covered from top to bottom in the sticky gooey mess. Everypony suffered the same gruesome fate without a second to react. That is everypony except for Trixie. She had quickly casted a magical bubble around herself to protect from the explosion. After the field dispersed she gasped seeing Twilight covered horn to hoof in the cake mix. Using her magic she pulled the cake mix off of Twilight and moved closer to brush it out of her face.
Twilight shook some of the excess off. “Thank you Trixie.” She smiled sweetly at her.
Sunset rubbed the cake mix out of her eyes and glared at Trixie as she caught side of the mare blushing. She then turned to Pinkie. “Pinkie Pie… why?!”
The pink mare giggled. “Sorry girls.” She liked the batter off of her own face. “I accidently put the cake batter in the party cannon again.”
“How do you manage that?!” Rainbow growled unfurling her wings and flapping them to shake off the goop.
Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Are you actually questioning Pinkie Pie darling?”
“Yeah I know.” Rainbow grumbled.
“Pinkie.” Twilight spoke up. “If the cannon’s were supposed to be filled with confetti, what was the cake batter for?”
“For a cake! Duh! Luckily I always have a spare!” She whistled and the doors to the dinning room swung open. A cake eight layers high rolled into the room with Spike pushing it. Everypony’s jaw dropped and Pinkie Pie jumped up on the table.
“~Ooooooooooooooooooooh Welcome, welcome, welcome to Ponyville today. It’s your third time back but now you’re here to stay~
~This is your new home so I hope we can make it swell. We’re all so very excited to have you here can’t you tell?~
~Welcome Trixie Lulamoon I hope the writer develops you. Welcome to our little group Trixie Lulamoon~”
Pinkie Pie landed in a dive right in front of Trixie panting. No pony spoke a word and just stared at Pinkie with looks of bafflement and wonder.
“I um…” Trixie was speechless.
“No need to talk! Enjoy the cake and welcome to Ponyville Trixie!” Pinkie beamed and handed her a slice of cake from seemingly out of no where.
Trixie looked at the cake then to Pinkie. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “Thank you Pinkie Pie.” She took the piece and dug into it. Everypony then shrugged and joined in.
Sunset internally sighed. Well that’s one pony, four more to go.
Astronomers had theorized that space was an infinite vortex stretching out beyond the sight of sentient life. They thought that there wasn’t a limit to the never-ending blackness and that each star held billions of stars past it. The galaxy would end but another would be seen at its edge in the distance. In theory there was never an end to the vortex, just a new beginning. Nothing would ever truly die in the galaxy because it would just begin again. Planets would crumble only to become smaller planets that carried new life. Stars would explode only to have their dust forge new stars.
Even the sun of Celestia would die one day, but it would come back more powerful than ever. The never-ending cycle of life was the nature of the universe. Nothing ever truly died, and no piece of the galaxy was ever out of reach. Was there ever an end to the universe? In a dimension of infinite universes did one ever end? Or does it keep growing with stories and lives lived, passed, and still to come? Was there an invisible barrier that prevented life from exceeding going any further? Only few knew the answer to that. Only few knew the answer to any of those questions.
The theories of sentient life past present and future were known only by one pony. He had been there for all of them and knew of those to come. He was not omnipotent, but he has traveled and knows the truths of the universe and he knew that the astronomers of all time were right. Nothing ever truly ended in the universe. Except right now.
The engines of his ship whirred silently as he stood on the edge of the galaxy. There was nothing, nothing beyond the sight, and nothing even on the scanners. All that stood before him was darkness. The closest galaxy, Andromareda wasn’t there. Neither were any of the others past it. The space was blank, just void filled with black nothingness.
“This… is not good.” He gulped as he looked out the doors into the darkness.
“What happened to everything?” The mare standing next to him asked.
The stallion’s eyes thinned and the air caught in his throat. “This isn’t supposed to happen… not in this time. We need to get help.”
“From who? Where are we going?” The mare asked.
The stallion ran back into the ship and pulled a lever on the console. The ship groaned and buckled as it started moving. “Ponyville.”
To be continued...