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// Chapter 3 
// Story: A Shadow of Doubt 
// by DaughterScrewball 
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     Cheesecake. The one food that Twilight truly despised. The one food that Trixie would truly never get sick of. The one food that Pinkie Pie decided would be the sole theme of her traditional welcoming party.
Twilight had hated cheesecake since she had first had it for desert at a fancy restaurant when she was six. Everything about cheesecake was revolting to Twilight: the silky, slide-down-your-throat texture; the way it filled you up far too quickly for you to eat a decent sized portion; even the name itself: Cheesecake... cheese, plus... cake. It was the most disgusting thing Twilight could think of.
What made it even worse was the fact that Trixie absolutely loved it. She seemed genuinely thankful for the party, especially the cheesecake, but it’s clearly all a façade. I don’t know how nopony else can see what’s right before their eyes. As soon as I let my guard down, she’ll turn her back on me… again.
Twilight knew she had promised to forgive her. She really had, if not completely, but that didn't mean she had to trust her quite yet. Something still just wasn’t right with the new way Trixie was acting. Why didn’t anypony else notice it? The way she acted just a little too humble, a little too nice, as if she had been coached. If only everypony else knew what else she's done, maybe they would be as cautious as I am…
"Twilight, why are you up here all lonely when you should be downstairs enjoying the party!?" Pinkie exclaimed, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Twilight was sure she had locked the door to her private quarters in order to prevent just this type of intrusion.
"I'm just not in the partying mood right now, Pinkie." Twilight sighed. "And besides, I can't stand cheesecake."
"Are you seriously serious, Twilight?" Pinkie exclaimed, clearly offended, "Who doesn't just love cheesecake? It’s the super-dooperiest type of cake ever! And everypony loves cake! I can't even think of somepony NOT loving cake! It'd be like if--"
"That's enough, Pinkie, I get the point!" Twilight rarely yelled at the pink pony, but it seemed the only way to let Pinkie know that she was serious.
Pinkie, frowning slightly, froze for a second before responding. "Twilight..." she spoke softly, "There's obviously something concerning you that you're not letting on. You would never get this angry just because you didn't feel like partying. Whatever it is, you can tell me, and if it's a secret I pinkie-pie-swear I won't tell anybody." She smiled as if to show Twilight that she could be trusted.
"Pinkie, it really is nothing--"
"Twilight, stop pretending and just tell me! If you never talk about your problems, they'll all bubble up inside you and eventually you'll explode from all the pressure. I don't want you to explode, Twilight! Please just tell me. Pretty pretty pretty please?" She smiled as wide as she could and made her eyes as large as they would become.
Twilight was too tired to argue, and didn’t think she could say no to Pinkie’s begging face in good conscience. At least Pinkie wouldn’t fully understand the situation anyway."Fine..." she finally answered, "But you have to keep it a secret from everyone, do you understand?"
"I pinkie-pie-swear on my great aunts life!" Pinkie's face brightened considerably.
"Good. Now listen closely, I'm not going to say this very loud." Pinkie sat on her haunches at the foot of Twilight's bed, leaning in to hear better. 

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Trixie, on the other hand, was having a fabulous time at the welcome party, at least at first. She didn't have any idea at first of why Pinkie Pie was asking what her favorite food was on that first day, but she was most definitely glad she had. If there was one thing in all of Equestria that Trixie would never tire of, it was cheesecake. How Twilight could stand never partaking in its creamy, soft, elegance, she had no idea. She was in the middle of enjoying her third piece when Rainbow Dash approached her leading two mares: one golden with a yellow mane, the other white with an elegant purple mane. Trixie rembembered the mares from somewhere- she assumed they had met during her first stay in Ponyville- but she couldn't quite remember how well their interaction had gone.
"Trixie, I'm sure you remember these two!" Rainbow excitedly said over the music. "But I don't think you've been properly introduced yet. This," she pointed to the white one, "is Rarity, and this is Applejack," she finished, pointing to the other mare.
"I do remember them, but..." Trixie smiled, slightly embarrassed, "I don't exactly remember..."
"What you did to them?" Trixie nodded her head. "Well... they don't exactly like to talk about it, but... you turned Rarity's hair green, and umm... hog-tied Applejack." The four mares shared an awkward moment. Like Rainbow said, Rarity and Applejack didn't want to talk about it, and Nightmare had advised Trixie to keep quiet and act ashamed. "But... after I explained the situation to them, they agreed to forgive you, right girls?" continued Rainbow Dash, eager to break the tension.
"Grudgingly." Applejack added.
"By the way, what substance was it that you put in my hair? It stayed in very effectively and I've been thinking of using it when I dye my fabrics, but I can never figure out your... recipe? I assume its custom, is that correct?" asked Rarity, trying to steer the conversation in a new direction.
"Yeah, it is a custom mixture; I'm impressed you were able to guess that. I actually figured it out by accident when I was a filly. It's actually a really funny story. I'll tell you it and give you the recipe a little later; I wouldn't want to bore these girls by excluding them."
"I would very much so appreciate that, Trixie," replied a smiling Rarity.
"See girls, she really has changed, she's even a lot more polite now. We've been hanging out over the last few days, and she's actually really cool,” interjected a somewhat exited Rainbow Dash.
It was true. Out of all the ponies she's "met" so far, Rainbow was the one she had connected the most with. Pinkie, while excruciatingly enthusiastic and funny, could also be amazingly annoying; Fluttershy was far too quiet; and she got the feeling that Twilight still suspected her of something. She wondered if she would be able to get Twilight to trust her at all.
"Umm... I think I'm gonna go get some more punch, I'll be right back," she excused herself.
"Okay, we'll see you again in a minute. Remind me when you get back that I have something to ask you."
"Okay." Trixie walked through the maze of ponies that the library had become. As she did so, she found herself amazed at how many ponies were even there, considering that this was only the third night she'd been back in town and she was pretty sure most of the ponies here had some reason or another to dislike her. Pinkie Pie must be the world's greatest party organizer, and the most convincing pony in Equestria as well... She frowned visibly at the last thought.
“You’re doing very well again tonight, by the way. Your acting is superb; it is no wonder everypony calls you ‘The Great and Powerful.” Nightmare’s nonstop flattery was getting annoying, but Trixie did appreciate the advice that the shadowy mare gave.
 I doubt I would be doing nearly as well if not for your advice.
“Perhaps... just remember to act sincere and polite, and you should do fine.” Nightmare receded back into the depths of Trixie’s mind. Her way of popping into her head so suddenly and disappearing just as quick was also quite annoying, but good advice does always come with a price.
Trixie arrived at the table, got her punch, and started to head back, but something caught her eye. Sitting on the couch nearest the kitchen (Pinkie Pie had couches dragged in for the party) were two mares, one mint green and the other a very light brown, or perhaps white. Trixie couldn't tell. The mint green one was sitting in a very peculiar, unnatural manner. It was this oddity that caught Trixie’s eye in the first place. Her back hooves were on the floor, and her front hooves were down at her sides. Her posterior was planted firmly on one cushion, and her back- this was the most peculiar thing- it was propped up against the back of the couch. Trixie wanted to ask why she was sitting that way, but she knew that it would sound rude. Finally curiosity overtook her, and she walked up to the two sitting mares.
"Hello, I'm, uh... I'm Trixie," she said with an awkward smile.
"Well, yeah, you’re who this party is for, silly," responded the mint green mare as both of them exchanged a quick look and started giggling.
Trixie felt stupid for saying something that, in retrospect, must have been blatantly obvious. "Well... I was... I was wondering why you were sitting like that. It's so... unnatural. It can hardly be comfortable."
The cream-colored mare answered before the green one got a chance. "She always sits like that, she claims it's ‘a revolutionary way for ponies to sit that is far superior to any way they've sat before." She smiled at the mint pony. "You can be so stubbornly weird sometimes."
"I know. But that's why you love me, remember?" she smiled as she planted a small kiss on her lips.
Trixie then noticed a few things that should have been obvious to her from the start. The two mares were sitting closer together than normal friends would. When they smiled at one another, they shared a look that puzzled Trixie. It had hints of guilt, but more like a shared secret that nopony else in the room was in on. What that secret was, Trixie could never guess, but it was obvious that it made them very happy.
"It’s a pleasure to actually meet you. I'm Lyra, and this is Bon-Bon," the green pony broke the silence. "You look... bewildered. I'm sorry if that little display of affection was too much for you or offended you. I know how some ponies can get about our... special circumstances."
"Oh, no, I'm not like that, I don't mind at all. I'm just surprised that I didn't guess a little earlier," Trixie corrected. "Nice to meet you, by the way. I guess you already know my name..." Trixie blushed just a bit.
"You have just the cutest face when you blush, did you know that?" asked Bon-Bon. I would do terrible things to be as cute as you for a day."
"Oh, hush, you look amazing, always." Lyra smiled and kissed her again, this time on the cheek. "And even if you didn't, you'd still always have me always," she finished, flickering her eyes in a cute, purposefully vain manner.
Trixie could see the traces of tiny, happy tears in Bon-Bon's eyes. Trixie was on the verge of tears herself. The way they looked at each other, the way they kissed each other, the aura of love about them. Trixie wanted that. If she couldn't have her revenge, if she couldn't have her success, she wanted that, whatever it was. If she had just that and nothing else, she would still be happy. She wanted to be loved.
And not just loved like a friend loves a friend or a parent loves a child. She wanted to be loved personally, closely, and selfishly like a pony loves only one other pony in his or her lifetime. That was the type of love she wanted to have. And even after everything, she still wanted to have it with one mare in particular.
Bon-Bon noticed that Trixie was had started all-out crying. "Oh, sweetie, are you okay?" she asked in her most concerned, comforting voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine; it's just... what you two have... I know this sounds cheesy, but... sniff…it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and... I want that... sniff… that kind of love. It's amazing." She was starting to wipe away her tears.
Now Lyra was tearing up just the slightest bit, too. “Thanks, I guess...” she said, “You really have changed, you know that? You're able to look past the... odd... circumstances of our love and really see the beauty it holds. I know that sounds cheesy, but... it takes a special kind of pony to do that.” She paused in thought for a moment. "Just out of curiosity, are you, by any chance... like us?" she asked with a friendly smile. Bon-Bon smiled encouragingly as well.
Trixie took a moment before responding, and when she did, it was in the quietest voice she could muster. "Yes..." she finally muttered, "Well, not technically. I've never actually... well..."
"Really?" Bon-Bon asked with curiosity, "For a mare your age nowadays, that's very really an oddity. I'm actually surprised that you of all people have never experienced it. You seem like the type of pony who would have both mares and stallions at their feet constantly, if I may say so myself."
Trixie blushed with an embarrassed smile before responding. "Well, thanks, I guess. Umm...this is really embarrassing." She blushed more and more until her face was a deep red while Lyra and Bon-Bon were staring back at her, listening intently, "Well, I guess the best way to put this is..."
"How is ‘it’?" Lyra asked while making parentheses with her hooves. Somehow this mare could read Trixie's mind.
Trixie shook her head yes in shame, a darker shade of red than she'd ever been.
Lyra and Bon-Bon exchanged a knowing look and smiled before answering together. "Lovely...amazing..."
"The best feeling you could ever have, but it hurts the first time if it's with a stallion," Bon-Bon said dreamily.
Lyra thought for a second or two and said, "Trixie, I'm no expert, but I can tell by your voice and your face that there must be somepony in particular you've been trying to save yourself for. Is that true?"
Trixie shook her head yes. She was blushing less but still unable to speak.
"A mare or a--"
"A mare," Trixie was able to sputter out before blushing uncontrollably again.
"And does she know about your feelings, or..."
Trixie shook her head no and then found she was able to speak. "At least, I don't think she does."
"Well, I'm sure, seeing as you've been acting a lot nicer lately, and as it stands your just adorable, that she at least has some sort of feelings for you, as well." Lyra smiled encouragingly.
"She does have a feeling for me. It's called distrust!" Trixie started to tear up again as Lyra frowned.
"Well if you keep acting as friendly and nice as you are now, I'm sure she'll come around and trust you very soon. Believe me; I've been on the untrusted end of the stick before, so I know how it feels." She looked over at Bon-Bon, who smiled lovingly back at her. "You'll eventually earn her trust again, no matter how long it takes you."
Trixie smiled, thankful for the advice. "How long did it take you?" she asked.
"Two days. Damn mare just can't keep herself off of me," she laughed as Bon-Bon hit her in mock offense before cracking up herself.
Trixie giggled and said, "Well, thanks a lot for the advice and encouragement, but I have to get back to my other friends. Have a wonderful evening."
"Nice meeting you, Trixie," they said in unison.
Trixie began to smile and during the entire walk back to her friends; she was the happiest she had been in a long time. Nightmare, on the other hand, was starting to think that maybe this partnership would not be as beneficial as she thought.